Writing scientific manuscripts: most common mistakes

<div><p>ABSTRACT I have had the privilege of serving as editor-in-chief for 11 years of two scientific journals: The Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics and the Journal of the World Federation of Orthodontists. I had the opportunity to read and correct thousands of manuscripts. This experience was greatly enriching, because reading a text professionally completely differs from the perspective of readers in general. The routine practice of correcting manuscripts has made me realize that some errors recur frequently. To help authors to improve their manuscripts before submission, these problems are discussed here in the order that they appear in conventional manuscript sections.</p></div

Descriptive statistics for tooth wear in the upper and lower jaw.

<p>Median (−), minimum and maximum values for the Arara-Laranjal (left side, n = 58) and Arara-Iriri (right side, n = 23) populations. P values were obtained using a Mann-Whitney test.</p

Dentition features in the Arara-Iriri and Arara-Laranjal groups for deciduous, mixed and permanent dentition.

<p>PR = Prevalence Ratio.</p>∞<p>PR Not computed (zero)/p-value for NA = Not available (ns) = not significant;</p>*<p>P<.05;</p>**<p>P<.01;</p>***<p>P<.001.</p

Dental occlusion in a split Amazon indigenous population.

<p><b>A</b>) Normal occlusion as observed in a male individual from the Arara-Laranjal village. The lines indicate the upper canine tip occluding between the lower canine and lower 1^st premolar. <b>B</b>) Class III malocclusion associated with anterior and posterior crossbite in a male from the Arara-Iriri village. The lines indicate a misaligned upper canine tip occluding posterior to the lower canine and lower 1^st premolar.</p

Sample size (n) and mean age (years) in the Arara-Laranjal and Arara-Iriri villages.

<p>Sample size (n) and mean age (years) in the Arara-Laranjal and Arara-Iriri villages.</p

Kappa coefficient for diagnostic method.

<p>Kappa coefficient for diagnostic method.</p