Farewell to Endodontic Topics

Abstract

Dear Reader: You are viewing the last volume of Endodontic Topics! After repeated but unsuccessful efforts by the publisher to list Endodontic Topics in Medline (PubMed), continuing the journal became too challenging. Writing review articles is demanding and takes an enormous amount of time—thus the authors must get their reward. Typically, the reward would be that the article is part of the Medline database, which guarantees citations and thereby academic merit to the authors. Being outside Medline does not give the same added bonus to the number of citations and h-index, both of which are important measures of success in academic activity. Recruiting “volunteer” authors therefore was an ever-increasing challenge. Last year, after 10 years as Editor-in-Chief, I informed the publisher that my term was coming to an end, and the publisher was unable to find a new EIC to continue to carry the journal further. Endodontic Topics was initiated in 2002 under the leadership of Prof. Martin Trope, together with some of the most prominent names in endodontics. In 2006, the “founders” wanted to step aside and I was invited to continue to lead our journal. I am writing “our journal” because Endodontic Topics, despite not being included in Medline, has been enormously popular among endodontists and graduate endodontic students throughout its public life. The number of downloaded articles has been extremely high, all over the world. The top 25 most downloaded articles since 2010 appear here. There is no doubt in my mind that Endodontic Topics has contributed greatly to the advancement of our profession, both with regard to clinical skills and especially in deepening our understanding of endodontic theory. The journal has been the “best friend” of many program directors in their important role in educating new generations of endodontists. I have had the great pleasure of working together with a talented group of associate editors: Leif Bakland, Anil Kishen, Dag Ørstavik, Ove Peters, Ya Shen, and Fabricio Teixeira. Their constant contribution and commitment to the journal have been crucial to the high quality and popularity of Endodontic Topics. Mrs. Ingrid Ellis has been the copy editor of Endodontic Topics throughout my editorship period; her dedication and high standards have been extremely valuable to the journal. While I will greatly miss the journal, I will miss equally as much the communication around publishing Endodontic Topics with my colleagues and my friends. Numerous authors in endodontics have contributed to Endodontic Topics. From the beginning, it has been regarded as a special honor to be invited to write for the journal. Author biographies at the end of each volume have emphasized this and also spread knowledge about leaders in the field of endodontics to our colleagues around the world. I cannot thank enough all who have contributed to Endodontic Topics. The value of the published articles will remain, and they will be actively used for endodontic teaching and learning for many years to come. Finally, I wish to express my most sincere thanks to the readers of Endodontic Topics. Your enthusiasm, support, suggestions, and feedback have been the most valuable reward for myself and for the entire editorial team. Thank You!