Are Dentists Prescribing the Antibiotics in Justified Conditions? An Exploratory Study

OBJECTIVE: Antibiotic prescription is a common practice among dental practitioners. Unjustified antibiotic prescription is leading to antibiotic resistance. The purpose of this survey is to analyze the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, conditions in which antibiotics are being prescribed, either the dental surgeons prescribe the antibiotics in the conditions where they are not recommended and awareness of antibiotic resistance among the dental practitioners of Lahore.
METHODOLOGY: The study aimed to identify the prevalence of unjustified prescription of antibiotics so we can take measures to teach dental students about this wrong and unjustified prescription in undergraduate studies. It was an observational crosssectional study. Among dental practitioners of Lahore, 380 were selected through a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Standardized; a previously validated questionnaire was used containing 18 questions, about the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, conditions where antibiotics are indicated, and antibiotic resistance. Data was coded in SPSS version 20.
RESULTS: It showed the studied sample of dental practitioners tends towards the over-prescription of antibiotics.
CONCLUSION: Dentists should prescribe antibiotics only according to the latest guidelines, where it is indicated. It should not be a first-line treatment modality
KEYWORDS: antibiotic resistance awareness, unjustified antibiotic prescription
HOW TO CITE: Liaquat A, Jaffary MF, Usman M, Tayyab TF, Saeed T, Naheed A . Are dentists prescribing the antibiotics in justified conditions? an exploratory study. J Pak Dent Assoc 2020;29(3):120-123.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25301/JPDA.293.120
Received: 15 December 2019, Accepted: 28 April 2020

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