GUIDANCE ON SUBMITTING ABSTRACTS TO THE 27th EADPH CONGRESS IN RIGA, LATVIA 14-16 September 2023

You are invited to submit a research abstract ON A TOPIC RELEVANT TO DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH for presentation, either in person or online during the 2023 EADPH congress.

It is expected that most abstracts will be presented in person in Riga. However, we will organise a hybrid congress with the possibility of a parallel presentation of online presentations and e-posters. We will provide high-level technological solutions so that you can enjoy the whole congress experience even if, for some reason, you cannot travel to Riga.

All presenting authors must be registered participants.

Abstracts should report research studies performed by their authors. However, abstracts which describe new methodologies or concepts may be accepted. This should be indicated clearly at the top of the abstract i.e. METHODLOGY and the sub-headings list for research abstracts should not be used.

You  have to be a member of the EADPH, who has paid the membership fee in 2023 to present an abstract during this year’s congress. The members section of the EADPH website gives details of how to apply for membership. The annual membership fee is €50 for those from low or medium income countries, retired members, undergraduate students and full-time postgraduate students and €95 for all others.

There is a travel grant budget sponsored by the Borrow Foundation and Colgate.  A number of travel grants of €500 are available to EADPH members from low and medium income countries and undergraduate students, who wish to attend the congress in person to present their abstracts. Those EADPH members who wish to attend the congress online and present their abstracts online may also apply for a grant to pay for their registration fees, when they submit their abstracts. There is a finite amount of money in the travel grant budget. In the event of more people applying for grants than can be funded from the travel budget, priority will be given to younger EADPH members.

Deadline for abstract submissions from EADPH members from low or medium income countries or who are undergraduates who wish to be considered for funds from the travel grant budget is 31 May 2023.

Abstracts are to be submitted electronically via the online abstract submission system. The deadline for submission of all abstracts is 31th July 2023. It is essential that you watch and listen to the video that accompanies this notice and read and follow the guidelines for abstracts, which appear below and on subsequent pages, before you write the abstract.  

Full or provisional acceptance of abstracts will be emailed to their authors on or before August 2023. 

Instructions on how to prepare your abstract, an example of a well completed abstract and the abstract submission form follow:

Instructions on Abstract Preparation and Style

Please follow the following guidelines when preparing your abstract and use the format and style set out below. Authors who have little experience of scientific writing in English are strongly recommended to consult someone proficient in scientific English when preparing the abstract and before they submit it.

General Points

As mentioned above the abstract should generally report some form of research into an aspect of dental public health. It should include data as both numbers and percentages and not just percentages and follow accepted principles of scientific research. The text be no more than 26 lines long. The abstract should be produced using Times New Roman 10 point font throughout.

Title Box

The title should be in bold font and no longer than 12 words. The names of the authors (maximum number 5). The name of the presenting author should be followed by an asterisk (*). The institution(s) to which the presenter and first author have their affiliation and that/those of any other co-authors, must be written in italics and be followed by the country. Only 3 institutions may be listed, so if the maximum of five authors come from different institutions, it will not be possible to list the institutions of the fourth and fifth authors.

The title must reflect the research presented.

The Text

The text of the abstract must be laid out under the headings: Aim(s), Methods, Results, Conclusions. They may be preceded with a very short statement to introduce the abstract if required. This should be no more than one sentence in length.

Aim(s): should be clearly stated.

Methods: should indicate where, when and among whom your data were gathered and give details of sample selection, randomisation and why the sample can or cannot be seen as representative of the population studied. Where applicable control groups, consent, ethical approval and statistical tests used must be mentioned. Detail the response rate(s), give the size of the group or groups and account for any drop outs from the original number(s).

Results: should give the most important findings and always include both numbers and percentages e.g. 71 (50%) were female.

Conclusions: should highlight the most important finding(s), be based on the observed results and start with the words ” In the population studied.”

Acknowledgements: If appropriate, any funding or other help provided by other people should be indicated under this heading.

Please add your e-mail address at the very end of the text box

For p-values, an italic font should be used for the letter p e.g. p<0.05. Decimals should be separated from whole numbers with a dot (e.g. 30.8) and thousands with a comma (e.g. 1,000). Do not include a space between the percentage sign (%) and the number preceding it (i.e. 22% is correct but 22 % is incorrect). As mentioned twice before always include numbers as well as percentages. In general, other than for p values do not present any data to more than one decimal place e.g. 13.1% and not 13.123%

The abstract must be no longer than 300 words/26 lines and be written in one paragraph, without any indents to the left of the page.

SELECTION OF ABSTRACTS FOR PRESENTATION AT THE CONFERENCE

Abstracts will be reviewed against the criteria set out in the attached abstract assessment form. If corrections or clarifications are necessary, you will be contacted.

Confirmation of acceptance/rejection will be e-mailed by  16 July  2023 to all presenting authors. In the event of any questions, please email or telephone the Associate Editor and Chair of the Abstract Committee, Professor Kenneth Eaton (email: kenneth.a.eaton@btinternet.com tel: 00 44 1233 813585).

Please ensure that the presenting author’s e-mail address, work and evening telephone number are included in the abstract submission form and that they are up to date. Please, be ready to reply immediately to all inquiries e-mailed to you by the scientific committee. If you change your e-mail address after submitting the abstract please email Professor Eaton to advise him of the change.

Four abstracts will be selected for 15 minute online oral presentations in competition for the annual Haleon (formerly GSK)  Research Prize.  All other abstracts must be presented by a 7 minute oral presentation (5 minutes presentation and 2 minutes for questions).

Hard copy posters are not required this year. However, once your abstract has been accepted you must produce an e-poster so that it can be projected during tea and coffee and lunch breaks. The template for e-posters and step-by-step guide on uploading them to the congress platform will be published on the webpage of the congress https://www.eadphcongress2023.com/

You will be asked to register to the congress not later than 2 weeks before congress to maintain the possibility to present your abstract. All e-posters should be uploaded to the congress platform at least one week before the congress. Only registered participants will have access to the platform.

As in previous years, after the congress, it is hoped to published all abstracts in the online pages of Community Dental Health

Abstract Assessment Checklist

 The following checklist is used when assessing abstracts. You must also use this checklist before submitting an abstract

  1. Did the abstract report a research topic in dental public health?
  2. Has the title box been completed as detailed in the guidance for preparing abstracts?
  3. Does the title reflect the research that is reported in the abstract  ?
  4. Is the abstract laid out under the headings: Aim(s), Methods, Results and Conclusions?
  5. Are the aims clearly stated?
  6. Does the description of methods answer the questions where, when and how?
  7. Have ethics approval and consent of participants been obtained prior to starting the study. If not ,why not.
  8. Is the sampling technique clearly described?
  9. Was the sample selected randomly? If not why not.
  10. Is the sample representative of the population studied?
  11. If appropriate, are the use of control group(s), and statistical tests
  12. Is the size of all groups given?
  13. Is the response rate given?
  14. Are drop outs accounted for?
  15. Do the conclusions reflect the observed results?
  16. Have all the technical requirements e.g. use of italics, no space between 20%, reporting both numbers and percentages and no more than one decimal place been met?
  17. Is the English adequate?
  18. Is the abstract no more than 300 words long ?
  19. Are there any other factors which need to be clarified with the authors?

Decision: Accept/ Reject/Seek clarification/amendment from the authors.

EXAMPLE OF A SATISFACTORY ABSTRACT

Caries in primary molars and its impact on the variability of permanent tooth eruption sequences

 Delphine LeClerck1*, Simon Champion2, Elsa Gross1, Dora Blanche2

1School of Dentistry, Oral Pathology and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Grand  Bourganville,  Frenchtown, Utopia.

2Biostatistical Centre, University Grand  Bourganville,  Frenchtown, Utopia.

Aims:  The aim of this study was to investigate the variability of permanent tooth eruption in Utopian boys and girls, taking into account the (caries) status of the primary molars. Methods: For this purpose data available from the Grosse Zahnmobiel® project were used. Data were collected from a representative sample of 4,468 children (born in 2010) and examined yearly by trained and calibrated dentist-examiners. Caries experience, at D3 level, and tooth eruption were recorded by direct inspection. The University Grand ethics committee approved the study and parental consent was obtained for each subject. Bayesian statistical analyses taking into account the interval censored character of the data were performed. Results: 10,234 (56%) of all examined primary molars were sound (i.e. dmft=0). Between 512 (2.5%) and 14.89 (7.2%) of the first and second primary molars had been extracted due to caries. When both primary molars were sound, the most prevalent eruption order was ‘4-3-5-7’ (first premolar – canine – second premolar – second molar) in the maxilla and ‘3-4-5-7’ in the mandible, in boys as well as in girls. When both maxillary primary molars had been affected by caries (i.e. either decayed, filled or extracted due to caries), the sequences ‘4-5-3-7’ and ‘5-4-3-7’ were  more prevalent whereas sequences ‘3-4-5-7’ and ‘4-3-5-7’ were less prevalent. When both mandibular primary molars were affected by caries, the prevalence of sequences ‘4-3-5-7’, ‘4-3-7-5’ and ‘4-5-3-7’ was increased whereas the prevalence of sequences ‘3-4-5-7’ and ‘3-4-7-5’ was decreased. Conclusions: In the study population, a history of caries in the primary molars was associated with an altered order of eruption of canines, premolars and second molars. In many subjects the most desirable eruption sequence was not observed; clinical evaluation and guidance in those cases is very important.

Supported by Nicesmile Corp – Research Grant OT/05/60 University Grand Bourganville, Frenchtown.

e-mail: dleclerck@teethugb.ac.ut  285 words