Impacted and semi-impacted third molar surgery is a frequent dental procedure. Due to potentially major tissue manipulation during surgery, antibiotic prophylaxis may be indicated to prevent infection of the surgical wound. This study evaluated the surgical conditions of patients following extraction of impacted and semi-impacted third molars with or without prior antibiotic prophylaxis. Signs of infection and inflammation, postoperative pain level and efficacy of the prescribed drugs were recorded. This was a prospective, randomized, double blind clinical trial with split-mouth design. A total of 23 healthy (ASA I) volunteers with indication for bilateral mandibular third molar extraction were recruited, totaling 46 surgical procedures. One hour prior to the procedure, volunteers received 1g of amoxicillin or placebo and a drug for pain prevention and control. The surgical acts were performed by last-year dental students. Postoperative pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale and an 11-point box scale at selected postoperative intervals of 4 h, 12 h, and 24 h. After seven postoperative days, study volunteers were examined for clinical signs of infection and/or inflammation, such as pus, intra and extraoral swelling, trismus, heat, flushing and temperature change. There were only two cases of postoperative complications, one of intraoral edema (placebo group) and one of trismus (antibiotic prophylaxis group). There were no statistically significant differences for any of the indicative signs of infection. The pain scales revealed no differences between pain levels in both groups at all times evaluated, regardless of the pain scale used (P > 0.05). To conclude, the low infection rate observed in our study does not reflect any need for antibiotic prescription in systemically healthy patients. The adverse effects of antibiotics in addition to selection for resistant bacteria outweigh the benefits of antibiotic prophylaxis in healthy (ASA I) patients.

Infective Endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the endocardial surface of the heart that is caused by fungi, bacteria or viruses. The high mortality and morbidity rates of IE have encouraged the adoption of preventive strategies. This study investigated the knowledge on the prevention of IE among 2nd, 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate dental students at the Escola Superior São Francisco de Assis (ESFA) and among dentists working in the municipality of Santa Teresa, ES, Brazil. Objective: The rationale for this study was to identify the gaps in their knowledge and raise awareness on the topic. Methods: The study was previously approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The sample consisted of dental students who had completed the Pharmacology for Dentistry course at the ESFA, totaling 35 2nd-year students, 29 3rd-year students, and 36 4th-year students. Thirty dentists registered in the Regional Council of Dentistry of Espírito Santo state, who were working in the municipality of Santa Teresa, ES, Brazil, were also included. All participants were given a questionnaire containing six objective and four subjective questions to assess their knowledge regarding the definition of IE, high-risk patients, dental procedures known to cause bacteremia, recommended dosage regimens for high risk patients, and additional care in the assistance of these patients. The questionnaires’ responses were reviewed following the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for disease prevention published in 2007. Results: The analysis of the results revealed a low rate of correct responses among students and dentists. The questions with the lowest rate of correct responses were those addressing the identification of patients at high risk for heart conditions and the dental procedures known to cause bacteremia, with no significant differences between the four groups analyzed (P > 0.05). Third-year dental students presented a frequency of correct responses significantly lower than that of the other groups (P < 0.001), which did not differ from each other. To conclude, all participants demonstrated poor knowledge about the topic, particularly 3rd-year dental students. Conclusion: These results reinforce the need for informative measures to raise awareness and improve the quality of dental care provided to the population.