Turkish Specialized Dental Publication (TSDP) is committed to promoting transparency, scientific integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct throughout the scholarly publishing process. To support the independent and objective evaluation of scientific research, all authors submitting manuscripts to journals published by TSDP are required to provide a complete and accurate Competing Interests Statement at the time of submission.
The existence of a competing interest does not, in itself, constitute grounds for manuscript rejection or preclude publication. Rather, transparent disclosure enables editors, peer reviewers, and readers to evaluate the research findings and their interpretation with an informed understanding of any relationships, affiliations, or circumstances that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the work.
Competing interests must be disclosed regardless of whether the authors believe that such interests have directly affected the research or its conclusions.
Where no relevant competing interests exist, authors must include the following declaration in their manuscript:
“No competing interests were disclosed.”
1. Definition of Competing Interests
A competing interest, also referred to as a conflict of interest, arises when financial, professional, institutional, personal, political, religious, ideological, or other relevant relationships or circumstances have the potential to influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, reporting, evaluation, or publication of scientific research.
Competing interests may be financial or non-financial in nature. Their existence does not necessarily indicate misconduct, bias, or compromised scientific integrity; however, failure to disclose relevant interests may undermine transparency and confidence in the scholarly record.
Authors are required to disclose relevant interests that could reasonably be considered pertinent to the submitted manuscript.
Competing interests include, but are not limited to, the following categories:
1.1. Financial Relationships
Financial competing interests may arise from the receipt of research grants, sponsorship, salaries, consultancy fees, honoraria, travel funding, educational support, gifts, equipment, materials, or other forms of financial or in-kind compensation from organizations that may benefit from or be adversely affected by the research findings.
Such relationships must be disclosed when they are relevant to the subject matter, methodology, interpretation, or potential implications of the submitted work.
1.2. Financial Ownership and Investment Interests
Authors must disclose relevant ownership of stocks, shares, equity, investment interests, or other financial holdings in commercial or non-commercial organizations that may experience financial gain or loss as a consequence of the research findings or their publication.
1.3. Patents and Intellectual Property
Relevant intellectual-property interests must be disclosed, including existing, pending, or planned patents, patent applications, licensing agreements, royalties, copyrights, or other proprietary rights associated with the research.
This requirement extends to intellectual-property interests held by the authors, their affiliated institutions, employers, or funding organizations when such interests are directly relevant to the submitted manuscript.
1.4. Professional and Institutional Relationships
Authors must disclose professional or institutional relationships that could reasonably influence the research or its interpretation.
These may include employment, consultancy arrangements, advisory appointments, membership of scientific or commercial boards, official institutional affiliations, or involvement in professional associations, advocacy organizations, or other interest groups relevant to the subject of the manuscript.
1.5. Personal and Other Non-Financial Interests
Non-financial competing interests may include personal relationships, professional rivalries, academic disputes, collaborative relationships, or other circumstances that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, an author's scientific judgment.
Authors should disclose such relationships when they have a meaningful connection to the research question, its interpretation, or the potential consequences of publication.
1.6. Political, Religious, and Ideological Interests
Political, religious, ideological, or advocacy-related interests may constitute competing interests when they are directly relevant to the research topic, interpretation of findings, or conclusions presented in the manuscript.
Disclosure is required only where such interests have a reasonable potential to affect, or appear to affect, the scientific independence or objectivity of the submitted work.
2. Commercially Sponsored Research
Authors affiliated with pharmaceutical companies, dental-material manufacturers, medical-device producers, biotechnology companies, technology developers, or other commercial organizations involved in sponsoring or supporting research must disclose all relevant relationships at the time of manuscript submission.
This requirement applies to clinical trials, laboratory investigations, observational studies, field research, and other scientific activities receiving commercial financial or non-financial support.
The Competing Interests Statement must clearly identify:
The full name of each relevant sponsoring or supporting organization.
The nature of the professional, financial, institutional, or other relationship between the organization and each relevant author.
Any financial contributions, grants, materials, equipment, technical assistance, or other forms of support provided.
The sponsor's role, if any, in the study design, data collection, data management, statistical analysis, interpretation of findings, manuscript preparation, editorial approval, or decision to submit the research for publication.
Where a sponsor or supporting organization had no involvement in these activities, this absence of involvement must be explicitly stated.
Commercial sponsorship does not automatically disqualify a manuscript from consideration. However, all relevant relationships must be transparently reported to enable an independent assessment of the research and its conclusions.
3. Author Responsibilities and Disclosure Requirements
All authors are individually responsible for ensuring that competing-interest disclosures are complete, accurate, transparent, and current at the time of manuscript submission.
The corresponding author is responsible for collecting and submitting relevant declarations from all co-authors and ensuring that the manuscript contains an appropriate consolidated Competing Interests Statement.
Authors must disclose relevant interests even when they consider those interests unlikely to have influenced the research.
If a new competing interest arises, or an existing interest becomes known, during editorial assessment, peer review, production, or following publication, the authors must promptly notify the relevant journal's editorial office.
Where necessary, the journal may request additional information or clarification to assess the nature and relevance of a disclosed relationship.
Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning competing interests and the independence of the research.
4. Editorial Assessment and Management of Competing Interests
Disclosed competing interests are considered as part of the journal's editorial and ethical assessment procedures.
The responsible editor may evaluate whether a declared interest could reasonably affect the interpretation, credibility, or independence of the submitted research.
Where appropriate, the editorial team may request clarification, additional documentation, or further disclosure.
The presence of a competing interest does not automatically result in rejection. Editorial decisions remain based on the manuscript's scientific quality, methodological validity, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal.
Relevant competing-interest information may be included in the published article to support transparency and informed interpretation by readers.
5. Failure to Disclose Competing Interests
Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may constitute a breach of the journal's publication-ethics requirements.
Where an undisclosed competing interest is identified during manuscript evaluation or after publication, the journal may undertake an appropriate editorial assessment in accordance with its established policies and relevant publication-ethics guidance.
Depending on the nature, significance, and potential consequences of the omission, editorial measures may include:
Requesting clarification or an updated Competing Interests Statement.
Requiring additional documentation concerning relevant relationships or sponsorship arrangements.
Suspending manuscript consideration while significant concerns are investigated.
Publishing a correction or updated disclosure statement when an omission is identified after publication.
Issuing an expression of concern where substantial unresolved questions remain regarding the reliability or integrity of the published work.
Taking further editorial action where warranted by the seriousness of the circumstances and the journal's publication-ethics procedures.
Any action taken must be proportionate to the nature of the concern and consistent with the principles of procedural fairness, confidentiality, and editorial independence.
6. Transparency and Publication Ethics
Turkish Specialized Dental Publication recognizes that transparent competing-interest disclosure is an essential component of responsible scientific communication.
The purpose of disclosure is to provide editors, reviewers, and readers with sufficient information to assess potential sources of influence without automatically presuming that the existence of a competing interest has compromised the research.
TSDP encourages authors to follow internationally recognized disclosure principles, including those reflected in the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Accurate and timely disclosure contributes to the transparency, accountability, and credibility of the scholarly publication process.
