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. 2019 Dec;227(12):1044-1050.
doi: 10.1038/s41415-019-1002-3.

Oral antibiotic prescribing by NHS dentists in England 2010-2017

Martin H Thornhill  1 , Mark J Dayer  2 , Michael J Durkin  3 , Peter B Lockhart  4 , Larry M Baddour  5
Affiliations

Oral antibiotic prescribing by NHS dentists in England 2010-2017

Martin H Thornhill et al. Br Dent J. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction Dentists prescribe a significant proportion of all antibiotics, while antimicrobial stewardship aims to minimise antibiotic-prescribing to reduce the risk of developing antibiotic-resistance and adverse drug reactions.Aims To evaluate NHS antibiotic-prescribing practices of dentists in England between 2010-2017.Methods NHS Digital 2010-2017 data for England were analysed to quantify dental and general primary-care oral antibiotic prescribing.Results Dental prescribing accounted for 10.8% of all oral antibiotic prescribing, 18.4% of amoxicillin and 57.0% of metronidazole prescribing in primary care. Amoxicillin accounted for 64.8% of all oral antibiotic prescribing by dentists, followed by metronidazole (28.0%), erythromycin (4.4%), phenoxymethylpenicillin (0.9%), clindamycin (0.6%), co-amoxiclav (0.5%), cephalosporins (0.4%) and tetracyclines (0.3%). Prescriptions by dentists declined during the study period for all antibiotics except for co-amoxiclav. This increase is of concern given the need to restrict co-amoxiclav use to infections where there is no alternative. Dental prescribing of clindamycin, which accounted for 43.9% of primary care prescribing in 2010, accounted for only 14.6% in 2017. Overall oral antibiotic prescribing by dentists fell 24.4% as compared to 14.8% in all of primary care.Conclusions These data suggest dentists have reduced antibiotic prescribing, possibly more than in other areas of primary-care. Nonetheless, opportunities remain for further reduction.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Antibiotic prescribing by dentists (by antibiotic class)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Penicillin prescribing by dentists
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Macrolide prescribing by dentists
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The proportion of all dental antibiotic prescribing represented by different individual antibiotics
Fig 5
Fig 5
Dental antibiotic prescribing as a percentage of all primary care prescribing of oral antibiotics
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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