Dentistry resources and support

---

Print resources

Dental print resources can be found in the Medical Library:

• Clinical dentistry books in the main Book Room as a discrete collection.
• Pre-clinical books included in the Medical book collection.
• New books are displayed on the New Book Display in the Medical Library for two weeks, during which time they may be reserved using the Library Catalogue but not borrowed.
• Print journals for clinical dentistry are in the Medical Library stacks alongside journals for medical sciences - do a journal search on the Library catalogue to locate the stack number for the print journal you need.

[Please note: the clinical books use a different classification scheme to the rest of the Medical books - use the Library catalogue to find the shelf location of individual titles].

Electronic resources

• eJournals - use the Library's eJournal catalogue to get access to the university eJournal subscriptions
• Online resources - MetaLib is the gateway to electronic resources provided by the Library.
• Databases - Databases for dentistry (via MetaLib)
• eBooks - where available, the Library is buying eBook versions of books on the BDS reading list. These are accessible via the Library Catalogue.

Course based materials

• The Library aims to hold at least one copy of all books on student reading lists, and multiple copies of key texts.
• Most Dental undergraduate course materials, including examination papers, workshop questions & answers, and some lecturer’s notes, are available on Blackboard.

Thesis collection

Dental DDS, PhD and research MSc theses of staff and students of the Dental Department, for the last five years, are available.

---

---

• Quick search on the Library homepage
  search for books, journals, or articles and databases using our various search tools, plus Internet search using Google Scholar.
• The Subject resources section of these pages includes key dentistry databases (via MetaLib) for searching for journal articles references, etc, quick reference tools, Internet links, and reviews and bibliographies.
• Our Library collections and eResources pages give full advice on finding all types of materials.
• The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. See below for more details. Access to other university libraries and the British Library may be a useful alternative.

---

---

The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. There is a charge for this service, though it may be possible to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this:

• Dentistry academic staff and research postgraduates will usually be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher - contact the Library Representative for Dentistry Dr Igor Blum or the Subject Librarian for details.
• Dentistry research postgraduates will usually be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher - contact the Subject Librarian for details.
• Dentistry undergraduates and taught postgraduates should check with your supervisor or tutor first that the item is suitable, or if they know of a locally available alternative. There is a charge for this service, though you may be able to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher from the ???Medical Library Issue Desk???

---

---

• Our Research support pages cover finding information, managing information, and exploiting your research, together with sources of further help and advice.
• Each academic department in the university has its own library representative, whose duties are detailed in these guidelines. The Library Representative for Dentistry is Dr Igor Blum
• New academic staff are welcome to contact the Subject Librarian to arrange a session on how the Library can help you.
• Medical Library Collection Management Policy (Word, 58 KB)
• Medical Library Collection Management Policy (PDF, 258 KB)
• Library Collection Management Policy
• Book purchase recommendations can be made using the 'Make a book suggestion' option at the top of this page.
• New journal / database subscription requests can be made to the Subject Librarian for Dentistry, though you will need to suggest how we might fund a new subscription.

Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader

---

---

The main databases for Dentistry are the Web of Science (Science Citation Index) and Medline (PubMed), however see the Metalib links below for a list of all databases offering dentistry content. MetaLib: your resource gateway provides access to a vast range of online resources, including databases, search engines, subject gateways, and selected Internet resources.

• Databases for Dentistry (via MetaLib)
  This link takes you to the list of databases and other information resources useful for Dentistry and Oral Health. For details of a particular resource click on the Info icon next to the resource name.

Help and Guidance:

Please see the self-paced training guides and tutorials to learn how to use each resource.

---

---

Learned societies and other organisations

• General Dental Council
• British Dental Association
• Dental Schools Council
• Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry - offers evidence-based resources including tools and journals.
• NHS Dental Services - from the NHS Business Services Authority

Learning resources

• Internet for Dentistry and Oral health - A free 'teach yourself' tutorial on Internet information skills for dentistry from Intute. This will help you to find and learn how to use dental information. Other subjects available also.

Data sources and statistics

• UK Statistics Authority
• Office for National Statistics
• WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS)

• ---

---

• Dental / medical dictionaries - in the Medical Library at RK27
• On-line Medical Dictionary - a searchable dictionary of biomedical terms, acronyms, eponyms, history and much more - On-line Medical Dictionary
• Biotech's Life Science Dictionary - a searchable dictionary of terms dealing with dentistry, biotechnology, botany, cell biology and genetics - BioTech's Life Science Dictionary
• Oxford handbook of clinical dentistry - in the Medical Library at RK51 MIT
• Oxford handbook of dental patient care - in the Medical Library at RK56 SCU
• British National Formulary (BNF) - in the Medical Library at V14b BRI
• Dental Practitioners' Formulary (DPF) - in the Medical Library at E3f21 DEN

---

---

• Reading review articles can be a good way of familiarising yourself with a topic quickly. Review articles can be published in normal journals, or in review type journals like the following. In many databases you can search for review articles, for example by refining search results in Web of Science by Document type.
• Look for titles such as Annual Review (of Materials Research), Advances in (Dental Research), Progress in (Orthodontics).
• Index to dental literature is the main bibliography. The content is covered by Medline, which can be found on the Key Dentistry databases (via MetaLib) page.

---

---

• Database search guides
• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

---

---

• Database search guides
• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

---

---

• Video tutorials - topics include the Library Catalogue, understanding references on reading lists, using the MetaLib resource gateway, off-campus access to eResources, etc.
• Finding and using information pages - covering key aspects of information skills, including researching a topic, effective use of Google, evaluating your search results, avoiding plagiarism, etc. Also includes a Jargon-buster page.
• Library guides - downloadable guides to each branch library, our main search tools, special library services, etc.
• External resources for developing your information skills - including online tutorials and downloadable guides.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

---

---

Citing references in your work

There is no single way of writing references. The two most common styles are the Harvard system and the Numeric system, details of which can be found in the guides mentioned below. You will need to use the style specified by your department or by the body or journal to which you are submitting your work. For Dentistry the numeric system is most widely used, though many journals use their own version of this system. If there are no guidelines specified, you should make sure that you write your references in a consistent way.

• General referencing guidance
  includes Why reference? What is included in a reference? Referencing styles, How to reference, Links to useful sites on referencing, and brief details of EndNote and EndNote Web referencing software (see the EndNote referencing software section below for more details).

Journal title abbreviations

Literature references are often written with abbreviated terms. Probably the most troublesome are abbreviated journal titles which can make finding a journal difficult.

If you are unable to find the abbreviation you are looking for, please ask a member of the Library staff for assistance. Alternatively, these online resources may help:

• PubMed Journal Browser

Unofficial abbreviations

Sometimes very short unofficial abbreviations are employed in dental reference books or journals. Here are some examples that you may encounter:

• JDR - Journal of Dental Research
• JOR - Journal of Oral Rehabilitation

Please note: these should not be used in the references that you write, unless they are stipulated by the body or journal that you are submitting your work to.

---

---

• Various guides to writing for Medical Sciences are available at classmark AA6c in the Medical Library
• Books on study skills in general are available at classmark AA7d in the Medical Library.
• Our Plagiarism: information and advice for students page explains what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and the consequences of plagiarism.

---

---

EndNote is the University of Bristol's recommended bibliographical management software, which can be used to collect, store, organise and manage references, and to output them as reference lists or bibliographies. A particularly useful function is 'Cite While You Write', enabling you to format Word documents, producing bibliographies and adding references within the text.

• EndNote Basic (formerly EndNote Web) help, advice and training sessions
  This is the recommended version for all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students - it is available free to UoB students and staff.
• EndNote Desktop support
  Academics, researchers and research postgraduates can use the desktop version, which may be installed on their UoB PC. See the 'Help and support' page of EndNote Desktop support for details of self help training materials.

---