Recommendations for approaching the introduction section of manuscripts and grant applications

Research on dental and dental hygiene education is key to improving learning, teaching, and oral health care in academic dental institutions. Faculty should be able to write research proposals and reports properly to secure funding for research and share the findings of studies with stakeholders. Specifically, they should demonstrate why the study matters in the introduction section of their text. Our experience in mentoring dental and dental hygiene faculty shows that some have difficulty justifying the importance of their studies due to the way they approach the introduction section. This short communication provides 3 recommendations to help faculty approach and write this section adequately, which can be useful for writing other sections of manuscripts and grant applications.