More Than One Reason for Oral, a New Journal

Beyond my obvious enthusiasm due to the nascent state that generally makes us see everything with optimism, as Editor in Chief of this new publishing experience, I start by asking myself a question: is another dental journal called Oral really necessary?

The answer is “yes” if all of us (of the editorial board and future authors) will be able to take advantage of this functional platform to focus on new themes or problems known but also addressed in an innovative and even provocative way. A new journal can and must do this.

Taking a quick tour of some editorial board members, they suggest some keywords to which others (both of niche and wide range) could certainly be added: new technologies (augmented reality, virtual reality, and internet of things) in all branches of dentistry and in oral medicine, COVID-19 issues in dentistry and the control/containment of known and/or emerging infectious diseases, geriatric and social dentistry, border topics among oral, ENT and maxillofacial surgeons, dermatologists, oral medicine experts and dentists, sports and dentistry, artificial intelligence, narrative dentistry, counselling, ethics, dental office management, oral manifestations of systemic diseases, rare or emergent oral and dental conditions, special care and frailty, and community and individual prevention of soft and hard oral tissue diseases.

The twenty-first century, while benefiting from technological innovation and advances in medical sciences, is nevertheless characterized by emerging challenges (economic, social, and epidemiological) that require contemporary health systems to face increasingly complex scenarios characterized by an increase in the demand for assistance in the face of a worrying shortage of economic and human resources.

The raising of the demographic age and the chronic course of a considerable number of pathologies represent the new emergencies that professionals and institutions must face in order to develop effective and sustainable care responses. Consequently, it has become a priority to promote models of care that provide for the establishment of multidisciplinary teams (MTDs) capable of integrating different professional skills in order to take charge of the person increasingly effectively. In light of this scenario, the concept of patient engagement (or active involvement of the patient) has assumed an ever-increasing value both in the scientific debate and in practice assistance, in line with the patient’s need/right to be more involved in the decision-making process relating to their own care, or to know all the details of the pathology and all the possible treatment options, with the relative advantages and risks.

I hope that, through studying, working, and publishing papers on these themes, modern technologies offer the opportunity to change the way we treat oral diseases and take care of oral health, encouraging patients to be more active players in their own health.

Additionally, researchers can benefit from the journal’s open access format, synonymous with greater sustainability, rigor and responsibility of research, and aims to make research more open to participation, review, refutation, refinement, and reuse, for the benefit of all.

So, with great enthusiasm, I invite you to submit high quality papers to this new journal, Oral.