Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Policy

1. Definition of plagiarism and incorrect borrowings

   The journal's editorial board considers plagiarism a gross violation of professional ethics. Plagiarism is the use of the work, idea, data, or words of another person without proper identification of authorship (reference to the source).

   According to COPE standards, the main forms of plagiarism and incorrect borrowing include:

   • Verbal copying: Using the exact content (text fragments) from another source without using quotation marks and citing the author.
   • Appropriation of ideas and results: Intentionally using the results of research, concepts, or methods proposed by other authors under your own name.
   • Appropriation of non-text elements: Using figures, tables, graphs, diagrams, formulas, or specific medical images (radiographs, CT scans, clinical photographs) without permission from the copyright holder or citing the source.
   • Self-plagiarism (duplicate publication): Using the author's own previously published texts or significant fragments without citing the original source. The editorial office does not use work that has already been published in other publications.
   • Internet plagiarism: Using any text downloaded from Internet resources (including databases, forums, or social networks) without proper citation.
   • Paraphrase without reference: Paraphrasing another author's idea, even if the sentence structure is changed, without specifying the source.

    

2. Manuscript review procedure and acceptance criteria

   Each manuscript submitted to the editorial office undergoes a mandatory uniqueness check before the scientific review stage.

   1. Technical analysis. The percentage of text matches is calculated by software, and the report's results are evaluated in detail by the editorial board. We distinguish between legitimate borrowings (terminology, protocol names, quotes) and incorrect use of someone else's text.
   2. Procedure depending on the extent of the detected matches:
      • Similarity level up to 25%: If the detected matches are of a technical nature or are incorrectly formatted citations, the manuscript is sent to the authors for review of the content and correction of comments.
      • Similarity level over 25%: If the volume of borrowings exceeds a clearly defined limit, the manuscript is rejected without the right to editorial review. In this case, the authors are invited to thoroughly revise the material, eliminate all text borrowings, and submit the work as a new manuscript.
      • Special cases: even with a low overall level of coincidences, if the manuscript reveals ownership of other people's ideas, results, or clinical images, the work is, in fact, rejected on grounds of academic integrity.

    

3. Authors' responsibility

   By submitting the manuscript to the editorial office, the authors confirm their awareness of the journal's policy and assume the following responsibility:

   • Originality of the research: The authors guarantee that the submitted work is the result of their own creative and scientific activity, has not been published anywhere before, and does not contain elements of plagiarism or data falsification.
   • Reliability of sources: Authors are personally responsible for the accuracy of citations, references, and proper formatting of the list of used literature.
   • Use of graphic materials: When using illustrations, clinical photographs (e.g., macro photography of the mouth, stages of restoration), radiographs, or CBCT results belonging to other individuals or organizations in the article, authors are required to obtain written permission from the copyright holder and indicate this in the text.
   • Family confidentiality: The authors refuse to disclose patients' personal data to maintain ethical norms. The photographs should not contain any identifying features of the patient, unless separate consent has been obtained.
   • Authorship: All individuals listed as authors must meet the criteria for authorship (contributions to the concept, data collection, or writing the text) and be responsible for all aspects of the work, thereby guaranteeing the integrity and accuracy of the study.

    

4. Article Retraction

   If the fact of plagiarism or individual manipulations with data are removed after the publication of the article, the Editorial Board will initiate a retraction procedure in accordance with the COPE protocols. The article will be officially withdrawn from the website and scientometric databases, with an explanation of the reasons, to alert the scientific community to the unreliability of the data.