Knowledge regarding antibiotic drug action and prescription practices among dentist in Jaipur city, Rajasthan

• Main Authors: Dushyant Pal Singh, Naganandini Sampath, Amit Vasant Mahuli, Himani Yadav, Simpy Amit Mahuli, Roma Yadav
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: Journal of Dental Research and Review
• Subjects: Antibiotics; dentists; microbial resistance
• Online Access: http://www.jdrr.org/article.asp?issn=2348-2915;year=2015;volume=2;issue=3;spage=127;epage=129;aulast=Singh

Introduction: Dentists prescribe antibiotics routinely to manage oral and dental infections. Unscrupulous antibiotic prescriptions can be associated with unfavorable side effects and the development of resistance. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge regarding antibiotic prescription use among dentists in Jaipur City, Rajasthan. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 300 dentists in Jaipur city. A validated, self-designed, 21-item, closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect data on knowledge regarding antibiotic prescription. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: A total of 300 dental practitioners were included in the study. The majority of the respondents seem to prescribe antibiotics that are broad spectrum or the ones that are commonly used. A considerable percentage of the respondents were not aware of the pregnancy drug risk categories by Food and Drug Administration. The most of the respondents said that they prescribe antibiotics on the basis of the diagnosis, whereas more than two-thirds of the respondents said that they never advise culture sensitivity test before prescribing the antibiotics. Conclusion: Our findings suggest the knowledge of dentists regarding antibiotic prescription is inadequate and more focus should be given to the ongoing training regarding the pharmacological aspects, pertinent medical conditions, and prophylactic use of antibiotics in dentistry.