The Young Dentist publishes dentistry and oral-health journalism, education, analysis and professional context using standards designed to support accuracy, usefulness, transparency and editorial independence.
This policy explains the principles that guide editorial decisions across news, clinical coverage, research, technology, reviews, opinion and patient-facing material.
Our Editorial Standards
- Accuracy
- Material factual claims should be supported by appropriate evidence.
- Independence
- Advertising and commercial relationships do not determine independent editorial conclusions.
- Evidence before certainty
- Preliminary, conflicting or limited evidence should not be presented as more conclusive than it is.
- Clear attribution
- Readers should be able to distinguish research findings, professional interpretation, company claims and editorial judgment.
- Clinical responsibility
- Health, treatment and patient-safety claims require additional care.
- Fairness
- Sources should not be materially misquoted or misrepresented.
- Accountability
- Verified factual errors should be corrected.
How These Standards Apply
Source Standards
- official regulatory or government sources;
- clinical guidelines and professional standards;
- systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
- peer-reviewed primary research;
- official datasets and original documents;
- universities and research institutions;
- professional dental organisations;
- direct attributable statements;
- official manufacturer documentation for product-specific facts;
- reliable secondary sources for additional context.
A manufacturer may be authoritative for documented specifications, but marketing is not automatically independent evidence of clinical effectiveness, safety or superiority.
See the Fact-Checking Policy.
Editorial Independence
Commercial support may help fund publishing activity, but it does not purchase control over independent conclusions or interpretation of evidence.
- advertisers cannot approve independent articles;
- payment cannot purchase favourable coverage;
- advertisers cannot require removal of justified criticism;
- commercial partners cannot buy predetermined recommendations;
- advertising does not determine ranking order.
Paid visibility does not determine editorial ranking position.
See Ownership and Funding, Advertising and Rankings and Reviews Methodology.
Clinical and Scientific Information
Clinical reporting should reflect the strength and applicability of the evidence available. Relevant considerations may include study design, sample size, patient population, follow-up, outcomes, limitations, funding, conflicts and generalisability.
Laboratory findings, preliminary research and early-stage studies should not be presented as equivalent to long-term clinical evidence when they are not.
Product and Technology Coverage
Coverage should distinguish technical specifications, manufacturer claims, regulatory information, independent evidence, clinician experience and editorial assessment.
Where these categories point in different directions, that disagreement may itself be important context for readers.
Anonymous Sources, AI and Corrections
Named, on-the-record sources are preferred. See the Unnamed Sources Policy.
AI-assisted tools may be used for image generation and illustration, while human editors remain responsible for published material. See the AI Use Policy.
Verified factual errors should be corrected. See the Corrections Policy.
Editorial Responsibility
Elliot Rowan is Founder & Editorial Director.
See the Masthead, Editorial Team, Authors and Publishing Principles.