Ethics Policy

Read The Young Dentist's ethics policy covering accuracy, fairness, source transparency, conflicts of interest, clinical responsibility, commercial independence and corrections.

Updated

The Young Dentist aims to publish dentistry and oral-health material with accuracy, fairness, independence, transparency and accountability.

These principles apply across news, clinical explainers, research coverage, analysis, reviews, rankings, technology reporting, professional commentary and patient-facing information.

Our Ethical Principles

  1. Independence. Editorial decisions should be based on relevance, evidence and reader value rather than advertising or commercial pressure.
  2. Accuracy. Material factual claims should be checked against appropriate sources, and headlines should not materially exaggerate what the evidence supports.
  3. Fairness. Sources should not be misquoted or materially misrepresented, and serious factual claims should be handled proportionately.
  4. Transparency. Readers should be able to distinguish verified facts, research findings, clinical guidance, professional interpretation, editorial opinion, manufacturer claims and commercial material.
  5. Conflicts of interest. Relevant financial, commercial, professional or personal relationships should be disclosed where they could reasonably affect interpretation.
  6. Responsible sourcing. Named and attributable sources are preferred where practical, with stronger sources generally preferred for important claims.
  7. Sensitive subjects. Diagnosis, treatment, patient safety, professional misconduct, privacy and serious reputation-related allegations require additional care.
  8. Accountability. Verified factual errors should be corrected, and new evidence may justify updates.

Evidence and Interpretation

Type
How it should be treated
Established factual information
Presented as fact when adequately verified
Research finding
Presented with appropriate limitations and study context
Clinical guideline
Presented with jurisdiction and scope where relevant
Expert interpretation
Attributed appropriately
Personal experience
Treated as context, not automatically as generalisable evidence
Manufacturer claim
Attributed as a company claim unless independently verified
Opinion
Distinguishable from straightforward factual reporting

Products, Commercial Material and Rankings

Receiving a product sample, software demonstration, event invitation or other access must not determine the editorial conclusion.

Advertising does not determine independent editorial conclusions. Sponsored content is not currently an established publishing format.

Paid visibility does not determine editorial ranking position.

Patient Information, Images and AI

Patient information used in editorial work should be handled carefully. Clinical cases should be anonymised where necessary.

Images should not materially mislead readers about a person, event, product, clinical case or research finding. AI-generated imagery should not be presented as documentary evidence when it is synthetic.

See the AI Use Policy.

External Pressure, Corrections and Responsibility

A correction should not be made simply because a subject dislikes accurate reporting or because a commercial party applies pressure. Legitimate evidence of an error should not be ignored because correction is inconvenient.

Potential factual errors should be sent to corrections@theyoungdentist.com.

Elliot Rowan is Founder, Owner, Publisher & Editorial Director.

See the Editorial Policy, Fact-Checking Policy, Corrections Policy and Masthead.

The Young Dentist, 6 Landmark Square, 4th Floor, Stamford, CT 06901, United States