Impact of moisturizing pretreatments on small reusable dental instruments cleanliness and mechanics

Xiuyu Tang; Yi Min; Yixuan Geng; Huan Huang; Tianjuan Xia

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0348177

Peer Review History

Original SubmissionJune 6, 2025
13 Aug 2025 Decision Letter - Rawaa Faris, Editor Dear Dr. Xia, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Please submit your revised manuscript by Sep 27 2025 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. 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If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice Reviewers' comments: Reviewer's Responses to Questions Comments to the Author 1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions? Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ******** 2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ****** 3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??> The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.--> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ****** 4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??> Reviewer #1: Yes Reviewer #2: Yes ****** Reviewer #1: • Authors should check for writing and typing errors. • The statements in discussion are acceptable but few paragraphs about the justification of your findings and comparison with other recent relevant studies. • Only include current up to date references in the reference list and remove outdated ones. Reviewer #2: • The manuscript within the scope of the journal. • Both the quality and data presentation of this manuscript are acceptable and of great importance to clinicians and even patients. • The manuscript expands our knowledge about Effective cleaning of reusable dental instruments • The title should be revised and reduced its characters. • The abstract should reflect the content of the article and must be with range of 250-300 words. • Four to six keywords representing the main content of the article BUT not mentioned in the title. • More paragraphs should be incorporated to introduction and discussion although the statements in discussion are acceptable but few paragraphs about the justification of your findings and comparison with other recent relevant studies. • All numerical values and percentage should be omitted from conclusion section. • The author( s) should pay attention to writing and typing errors throughout the manuscript • Up to date references should be kept in your reference list and the old should be omitted. 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If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.] While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.--> https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r001
Revision 1
8 Sep 2025 Author Response We would like to express our sincere thanks to the reviewers for the constructive and positive comments. The detailed responses to the reviewers' comments are as follows. According to the requirements of the journal, we have made corresponding checks and made the following revisions. 1. Our manuscript was completed in accordance with the formatting requirements of PLOS ONE's style. 2. The amended Funding Statement was added in cover letter. 3. The Wuhan University Clinical Nursing Special Research and Cultivation Fund Project (1607/600400021) was the only funder. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. 4. All raw data required to replicate the results of our study was uploaded as supporting information in the file named “Data”. 5. I have an ORCID iD (0009-0002-789-9798), and also updated my information. 6. According to the requirements, we have removed the funding information in the Acknowledgments Section. 7. All figures were removed from revised manuscript file, and separately uploaded the individual TIFF/EPS image files. 8. Our reference was reviewed and it is complete and correct. No retracted paper was cited in our paper. Replies to Reviewer #1 • Authors should check for writing and typing errors. --According to the comment raised by the reviewer, we had checked the spelling and grammar in writing, and highlight with yellow. • The statements in discussion are acceptable but few paragraphs about the justification of your findings and comparison with other recent relevant studies. --We made corresponding modifications to the discussion and references section. We added two new paragraphs form line 276 (Page 10) to line 298 (Page 11). Minor enhancement was made from line 264 – 267 in Page 10. The integration was added from line 323 – 324 in Page 12. • Only include current up to date references in the reference list and remove outdated ones. --We deleted some outdated references (number 5, 8,17 and 25 in the original version), and added some current references (number 22 - 29 in revised manuscript and marked with red). Replies to Reviewer #2 • The title should be revised and reduced its characters. --We revised and reduced the title characters and marked with red. • Four to six keywords representing the main content of the article BUT not mentioned in the title. -- We have revised some keywords and marked with red. • More paragraphs should be incorporated to introduction and discussion although the statements in discussion are acceptable but few paragraphs about the justification of your findings and comparison with other recent relevant studies. -- This opinion is similar to the second question raised by Reviewer #1. It has already been addressed previously. • All numerical values and percentage should be omitted from conclusion section. --There was no numerical values and percentage in conclusion section. • The author should pay attention to writing and typing errors throughout the manuscript. -- we had checked the spelling and grammar in writing, and highlight with yellow. • Up to date references should be kept in your reference list and the old should be omitted. --According to the comment raised by the reviewer, we had deleted the outdated references. Attachments Attachment Submitted filename: Response to Reviewers.docx https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r002
8 Oct 2025 Decision Letter - Rawaa Faris, Editor Dear Dr. Tianjuan Xia, Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Please submit your revised manuscript by Nov 22 2025 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file. A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'. A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'. An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'. If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.... We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript. Kind regards, Rawaa A. Faris, Ph.D. Academic Editor PLOS ONE Journal Requirements: If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise. Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice. [Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.] [NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.] While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r003
Revision 2
27 Oct 2025 Author Response Dear Ph.D. Rawaa A. Faris， We would like to express our sincere thanks to your opinion about our manuscript. The detailed responses to your comments are as follows. If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise. --- The reviewers did not recommend any papers for citation. Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice. ---The references were checked and revised. The revised references were marked with red. ---The reference [5] was updated. The old one “Sterilization of health products in public services (2016)” was replaced by the new one “Australian Dental Association (2024) Guidelines for Infection Control (2024). Fifth Edition”. --- The old title was wrong in the reference [18]. The corrected title “The Role of ATP Luminometers in Infection Control” was marked with red. ---The time was wrong in the reference [19]. The correct time is 2013. ---No retracted paper was cited in our manuscript. While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step. ---The PACE corrected figures were obtained through the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, and re-uploaded. Sincerely Tianjuan Xia Attachments Attachment Submitted filename: Response_to_Reviewers_auresp_2.docx https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r004
13 Apr 2026 Decision Letter - Rawaa Faris, Editor Impact of Moisturizing Pretreatments on Small Reusable Dental Instruments Cleanliness and Mechanics PONE-D-25-27990R2 Dear Dr.Tianjuan Xia , We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements. Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication. An invoice will be generated when your article is formally accepted. Please note, if your institution has a publishing partnership with PLOS and your article meets the relevant criteria, all or part of your publication costs will be covered. Please make sure your user information is up-to-date by logging into Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager® and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact billing support.... If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org. Kind regards, Rawaa A. Faris, Ph.D. Academic Editor PLOS One Additional Editor Comments (optional): Dear Authors, Following the submission of your revised manuscript entitled: “Impact of Moisturizing Pretreatments on Small Reusable Dental Instruments Cleanliness and Mechanics” I am pleased to inform you that, after careful evaluation of the revised version and your detailed responses to the reviewers’ comments, your manuscript has been accepted for publication. Regards, Rawaa A. Faris https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r005
Formally Accepted
Acceptance Letter - Rawaa Faris, Editor PONE-D-25-27990R2 PLOS One Dear Dr. Xia, I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS One. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now being handed over to our production team. At this stage, our production department will prepare your paper for publication. This includes ensuring the following: * All references, tables, and figures are properly cited * All relevant supporting information is included in the manuscript submission, * There are no issues that prevent the paper from being properly typeset You will receive further instructions from the production team, including instructions on how to review your proof when it is ready. Please keep in mind that we are working through a large volume of accepted articles, so please give us a few days to review your paper and let you know the next and final steps. Lastly, if your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org. You will receive an invoice from PLOS for your publication fee after your manuscript has reached the completed accept phase. If you receive an email requesting payment before acceptance or for any other service, this may be a phishing scheme. Learn how to identify phishing emails and protect your accounts at https://explore.plos.org/phishing. If we can help with anything else, please email us at customercare@plos.org. Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access. Kind regards, PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff on behalf of Dr. Rawaa A. Faris Academic Editor PLOS One https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348177.r006

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