Antibiotic prescription trends among dentists for oral infections with respect to their clinical experience and designation

Background: Antibiotics are frequently used by dentists to manage oral infections. This has led to the development of antibiotic resistance. It is important to address this issue by raising awareness in dentists for a judicious use of antibiotics. The aim of this study is to assess the antibiotic prescription trends among dentists for oral infections with respect to their clinical experience and designation. Material and Methods: A Cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on 100 dentists working in College of Dentistry, Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore from January 2023 to January 2024. Dentists working in clinical sciences or those working in clinical settings irrespective of their age and gender were included in the study. Non-practicing dentists, those working in the basic dental sciences and those with a clinical experience of less than 6 months were excluded from the study. Data was collected by means of a pre-validated questionnaire. Statistical package for social sciences 23 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A statistically significant association between antibiotics prescription trends among dentists in fever due to oral infections (p=0.01), localized oral swelling (p=0.02), diffuse oral swelling (p=0.05), acute pulpitis (p=0.03), pericoronitis (p< 0.001), periodontal abscess (p< 0.001) and cellulitis (p< 0.001) and their designation was seen. The association between antibiotic prescription trends for pericoronitis (p=0.05) was significant with clinical experience of dentists with prevalence being higher in dentists with a clinical experience of 6-12 months. Conclusion: Majority of the house officers and dentists with lesser clinical experience were seen to prescribe more antibiotics in various oral infections This can be attributed to limited clinical experience which leads them to resort to antibiotics for resolution of oral infection more often than general dentists. Keywords:  Antibiotic prescription, Dental practitioners, Clinical experience, Oral infections