Improving Knowledge of General Dental Practitioners on Antibiotic Prescribing by Raising Awareness of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) Guidelines

OBJECTIVES Cases of antimicrobial resistance are increasing, partly due to inappropriate prescribing practices by dentists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prescribing practices and knowledge of dentists with regards to antibiotics. Moreover, this study aimed to determine whether the prescriptions comply with the recommended guidelines and whether clinical audit can alter the prescribing practices of dentists leading to better use of antibiotics in the dental service. MATERIALS AND METHODS A clinical audit (before/after non-controlled trial) was carried out in two dental clinics in the northeast of England. Retrospective data were collected from 30 antibiotic prescriptions, analysed and compared with the recommended guidelines. Data collected included age and gender of patients, type of prescribed antibiotics and their dosage, frequency and duration, clinical condition and reason for prescribing. The principles of appropriate prescribing based on guidance by the Faculty of General Dental Practice in the United Kingdom (UK), FGDP, were discussed with the dental clinicians. Following this, prospective data were collected and similarly managed. Pre and post audit data were then compared. Changes were tested for significance using McNemar's test and P value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS After intervention, data revealed that antibiotic prescribing practices of dentists improved, as there was an increase in the percentage of prescriptions that were in accordance with the FGDP (UK) guidelines. CONCLUSION In view of the limited data collected, this study concludes that there are inappropriate antibiotic prescribing practices amongst general dental practitioners and that clinical audit can address this situation, leading to a more rational use of antibiotics in dental practice.