Adios

TL;DR: The Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology (JISP) concludes its 4-year journey, highlighting its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, publication of 3 Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, and achievements in indexing and online platform upgrades.

Abstract: We ink this last editorial as a long, tiring yet fruitful journey comes to an end. Our hearts are filled with gratitude as we pen down what these four years truly meant. The journey in last four years had been a bumpy ride with COVID-19 taking a toll on each one of us. These were the testing times where we learnt more from real experiences than textbooks. The world had come to a halt but JISP hadn’t. It was taxing to get a task done with everything being shut and everyone working from home and shifting their working style to the digital world. COVID taught us that “Teams that stick together emerge as survivors of a sinking ship”. We (JISP) emerged as survivors, notwithstanding the situation. Those days’ submissions reached a soaring 900 and beyond. Neither the response to the authors was late, because of huge submissions nor a single issue was delayed, backlogged or compromised. Articles were pouring in especially related to COVID-19. It was as if everyone everywhere was a someone who knew all about the pandemic. With institutions being shut and inactive, we were floating in a bubble of guidelines on how to manage oral conditions associated with COVID-19. Though as much as it was tempting to publish such unproven, unsubstantiated, non-scientific data, JISP refrained or in fact resisted such publications as that would mean jeopardizing the standard of the journal even though many acclaimed societies were encouraging them. For the first time ever, JISP was fortunate enough to have published three Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Guidelines - 1. Management of periodontal disease in patients with diabetes,[1] 2- Recommendations for the management of dentin hypersensitivity[2] and 3- Recommendations for gum care.[3] These guidelines will act as pillars of learning and a reference for all. The guidelines for management of periodontal disease in patients with diabetes[1] were a joint statement of Indian Society of Periodontology and Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India. Additionally, these guidelines were also published simultaneously in the Journal of the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI), the largest society of diabetologists in Asia.[4] JISP’s long 10 year plus association with the publishing house Medknow deserves applause. Their constant support and upgraded strategies has aided JISP to reach the level that it is at today. Our journal, being one of the top journals under their umbrella of 480 journals, was among the first few to be shifted to latest platform of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins with a new and more interactive website. The novel interactive website with alt-metrics provides detailed information about each article, it’s authors, citations, access throughout the world rendering the publication process efficient and simple for all. A new updated submission platform with electronic copyright form facility was also launched. The journal ‘Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology’ was indexed in SCOPUS since 2011. As a part of the SCOPUS re-evaluation initiative, SCOPUS selected JISP for revaluation and our SCOPUS indexation was renewed in 2020. Additionally JISP has also been included on the OVID platform. We receive submissions from more than 85 countries, making it truly an international journal in the real sense and deemed as one of the most prestigious journals. The readers, authors, reviewers of JISP deserve a special mention and we are truly indebted to them for the obvious reason that JISP exists “for and because” of them. It has been an incredible life changing journey as we bid adieu to an extraordinary team of amazing and talented people. Dr. Grover, our Hon. Secretary, has provided us continuous support, guidance, and has meticulously also managed the finances of JISP. We are truly indebted to him. Dr. Ashish Jain, whose out of the box thinking and excellent ideas (GCPs being his ideas) has helped the journal to reach new heights. Please accept our sincerest appreciation for your guidance both on a professional and personal front. Dr. Manish Khatri, Business Manager, JISP, needs a special mention for his everlasting energy and a lifetime of friendship. All of you, with your positivity and leadership, kept us on track during both highs and the lows professionally and personally. We are deeply appreciative and thankful to Mr. Hussain Sheikh, Production Manager, Medknow, our “go to person” for every back-end concern of JISP. No matter what the hour, he has always been just a phone call away. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Vikas Chawla - Head Publishing, Medknow for his continuous support to JISP. We are incomplete without our Advertisers and thankful to all of them especially Colgate for their trust and support. As the saying goes “With great power comes great responsibilities”. We have tried our best to be true to our responsibilities and do justice and fulfil our duties with all fairness in last 4 years. Although, we know there will be lot of authors, whose articles were not accepted for reasons conveyed to them, would disagree with us, we must mention here that our acceptance rate has ranged between 18-23%. Also, we have toiled hard to maintain the timeline and regularity of each issue of the journal by going online on the due date. After 4 years, we can proudly say that JISP has created a sense of duty in us… a moral duty towards our profession and the field of Periodontics in our country. This is a society where everyone big or small has a role to play to bring about change. We wish the incoming team at JISP all the best and hope that they take JISP to newer heights. Until We Meet Again……. ADIOS