A Multicultural Demographic Study to Analyze Antibiotic Prescription Practices and the Need for Continuing Education in Dentistry

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of the study was to understand and analyze the prescription patterns of dentists across various demographic locations for managing oral infections and pain with antibiotics and explore the evidence-based practices by clinicians as well as the need for further education. Materials and methods. This cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire framed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practices among dentists with varying levels of experience and qualifications, regarding antimicrobial prescription. The questions were validated from previous published studies that explored the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) with respect to antimicrobial prescription. In total, N = 300 of dentists from four different countries responded to the online questionnaire out of which 53% were specialists while 47% were general dentists. After data collection, descriptive analysis was carried out along with a one-sided hypothesis test to depict the power of the sample.

Results: It was seen from the results of the study that the first-choice antibiotics for 67.8% of dentists were found to be the β-lactam group while sulfonamides and tetracyclines at 20% were the second most prescribed group. Another important finding was that 45.6% of dentists ignored hypersensitivity testing before prescription of antibiotics even though 83.3% of the total dentists interviewed were aware of the increase in antibiotic resistance.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the dentists are partially aware of the guidelines but need further training and education on antimicrobial prescription that enables evidence-based decision-making for better practices and outcomes.

Figure 1

(a) Have you ever encountered superinfection in a patient following antibiotic prescription? (b) Are you aware of the management protocol for the treatment of superinfections?

Figure 2

Calculation of the sample size and its representation.

Figure 3

(a) Types of dental practice. (b) represents the work experience of the participating dentists in years. (c) Graphical representation of the percentage of the year of graduation of the participating dentists.

Figure 4

(a) Which conditions do you most often prescribe antibiotics for? (b) Do you prescribe antibiotics following every extraction? (c) Do you prescribe antibiotics prophylactically prior to oral surgical procedures in nonmedically compromised patients? (d) Do you routinely prescribe antibiotics?

Figure 5

(a) Which drug do you prescribe most for the purpose of prophylaxis? (b) Do you follow standard protocols for dosage and duration when prescribing antibiotics?

Figure 6

(a) Would you prescribe antibiotics for pulpitis?. (b) Do you test for culture sensitivity prior to antibiotic prescription? (c) Have you encountered self-medication of antibiotics amongst your patients? (d) Are you aware of the rise in antibiotic resistance?