Antibiotic use and resistance: Information sources and application by dentists in Jordan

Abstract

Introduction: The availability of evidence-based information sources for dentists is essential to influence antibiotic prescribing practices and we need to understand how dentists interact with such sources and how this influences their practice. The present study aimed to evaluate dentists’ preferred sources of information and their awareness of available information and initiatives on prudent antibiotic prescribing practices in Jordan.
 Methodology: An online cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to dentists between July to September 2021. It was an adapted version of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) survey for antibiotic use and resistance.
 Results: A total of 204 dentists responded to the survey. The main sources of information regarding avoiding unnecessary antibiotic prescribing were published guidelines (35.5%), the dental professional body (20.0%), colleagues or peers (18.6%), and scientific organizations (17.2%), with the influence of these sources on changing prescribers’ views being 40.7%, 9.8%, 10.3%, and 14.2%, respectively. Of the surveyed dentists, 9.3%, 33.8%, and 56.9% were aware, unaware, and unsure of the presence of national action plans on antimicrobial resistance, respectively. Dentists reported their desire to receive more information about resistance to antibiotics (57.8%), medical conditions for which antibiotics are used (52.9%), how to use antibiotics (41.2%), prescribing of antibiotics (39.7%), and links between the health of humans, animals, and the environment (26.0%).
 Conclusions: The study provided insights into the information available to and used by dentists, which can inform effective antimicrobial stewardship strategies for improving antibiotic prescribing.

Antibiotic Prescribing in Dental Medicine—Best Practices for Successful Implementation

“…It is encouraging to see that, in many settings, most dentists are open to receiving information regarding proper antimicrobial use [ 25 , 32 , 38 , 45 , 47 ] and AMR [ 25 , 38 , 47 ], and some go as far as mentioning that this “should be as important as getting your 60 h of CPD every two or three years” [ 47 ] and that if clinically relevant updates to non-dental guidelines are released, the information should also be sent to dentists [ 25 ]. Otherwise, antibiotic training is considered by dentists to be slightly out of the scope of dentistry, which makes it quite unlikely that they would find out about changes in other fields of practice [ 25 , 47 ], even though these changes can also have repercussions on their own practice.…”

Antibiotics in Dentistry: A Narrative Review of the Evidence beyond the Myth

“…The findings of the various studies about the epidemiology of antibiotic consumption and prescription indicated a lack of adherence to professional guidelines in prescribing antibiotics in dentistry. Only a small percentage of dentists refer to published guidelines for proper antibiotic prescribing, and an even smaller percentage were aware of national action plans on antibiotic resistance [17,18,20,21,28,29,54]. There was still also a lack of knowledge and uniformity in antibiotic prescriptions among dentists in different countries, including Saudi Arabia [18], Pakistan [17], Kuwait [52], Ghana [54], Italy [5], United Kingdom [25], Croatia [30], India [23], Lebanon [39], Northern Ireland [40], and Israel [57].…”

“…Dentists who received additional education on antibiotic use demonstrated greater knowledge and bet-ter prescribing practices [22,36]. Many dentists also expressed a desire to receive more information on the proper use of antibiotics [21].…”

“…Several factors are involved in the development of antimicrobial resistance, mainly distinguishable into intrinsic factors due to natural bacterial resistance to one or more antibiotics, and acquired factors occurring when a population ordinarily sensitive to a given antibiotic becomes resistant to a given antibiotic thanks to the mutation of one or more genes (endogenous acquisition), or thanks to the external environment (exogenous acquisition) through horizontal gene transfer from the environment or other bacteria, which can originate from microbial or human factors [2,21,135].…”

Awareness, perspectives and practices of antibiotics deprescribing among physicians in Jordan: a cross-sectional study

“…Various strategies have been developed to decrease the improper use of antibiotics in healthcare settings. In Jordan, the majority of efforts have concentrated on decreasing the initiation of unnecessary antibiotic treatments and have targeted prescribers (Al-Taani, Al-Azzam, Karasneh, Ababneh, et al, 2022 ; Al-Taani, Al-Azzam, Karasneh, Sadeq, et al, 2022 ; Karasneh et al, 2021 ). However, no efforts have been made to stop the already-initiated inappropriate antibiotics.…”