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The responsibility of a major challenge

Alberto Consolaro

Every fifty years, pre-Columbian civilizations used to completely renew their methods and criteria for social and political organization, giving them a fresh new start, a new beginning, establishing a new cycle of progress during periods of renewal. A scientific periodical has to follow the same path, cyclically renewing itself with new editors and advisers, new sections and new authors, new scientific and disclosure articles. This is what comprises any editorial dynamics around the world. By the way, “periodical” is strongly related to period, cycles! Whenever a product was considered perfect and was fully accepted by its consumers, Steve Jobs would create new designs and a whole new product would be developed to replace it. When questioned why, he answered: “We have to practice autophagy if we want to keep our success. We cannot let our competitors do that for us. We have to do it before them!” Research institutes and universities question, devise methods and criteria, employ them in their clinical and laboratory trials and, after discussing the results, present their conclusions in the format of an article. Once completed, the research is published and that is when a new instance, which is not under the scientist’s control, but under publishers’ control, takes place. Those who write should not be the same people that publish, since this practice hinders selectivity. The editorial world of scientific journals should not be involved with the academic world. These two instances of science should not meddle! That is the reason why the advisors of a periodical are professionals with considerable scientific and academic experience, filled with articles and books, on which they base their decisions when selecting what other people wish to publish. They must be experts in research and publication. And Dental Press Implantology has adopted such dynamism as well as other upcoming changes! For instance: What is the purpose of the interviews presented in a scientific journal? At first, they aim at giving the opportunity for the scientific community to know itself, in all of its facets, with its research groups, laboratories as well as researches and publishers. For a scientific journal evaluation board, the interviews are useless; but in Dental Press Implantology they fulfilled their role. And this was essential for Implantodontics, a new science whose practitioners came from Periodontology, Rehabilitation, Prosthesis and/or Surgery. It became necessary to know who embraced this new specialty and new research area. Now that we know who and where we are, the systemic interviews will be replaced by new sections. Some interviews will be conducted in very special occasions, such as when a renowned researcher comes for a visit, internationally recognized research awards are received, or even when a creative and innovative businessman stands out. New editors usually bring along new advisers, encourage the authors and try to give dynamism to the procedures of the periodical — always thinking of subscribers, advertisers and the best way to serve science, especially Dentistry. A journal is only apparently owned by a person; its real owner is the group of members of a certain scientific community! Let the new come; and as the song says: “...it always does!” In the context of renewing Dental Press Implantology, the current issue presents an example of attitude and conduct, the results of Prof. Dr. Paulo Perri’s trajectory and thinking. Dr. Perri has elegantly contributed — with discretion and ethics — to the fields of Surgery and Implantodontics. His higher education and academic career were accomplished at the School of Dentistry — State University of São Paulo (UNESP)/Araçatuba, but nowadays, he is a professor and researcher of the School of Dentistry — University of São Paulo (USP)/Bauru and School of Dentistry — São Leopoldo Mandic/Campinas. His trajectory reveals how a group must cohesively work on common objectives previously determined, explained and discussed by its members. Silently, Prof. Dr. Paulo Perri works with strong feelings of solidarity, fraternity and love for people, although not everybody is able to sense such feelings, always present in our daily lives. Happy are his students as well as his life and work partners! Let us always reflect!

Friday, March 29, 2024 10:46