Treatment of acute dental infections

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is globally a growing public health threat. Constrained and appropriately targeted use of antibiotics in health care could slow down the development of antibiotic resistance. Dentists are responsible for a substantial proportion of all antibiotic prescriptions, thus it is important that dentists know optimal principles and practices of using antibiotics. In Nordic countries, national guidelines have an important role as a source of up to date knowledge and expert opinion on treatment of dental infections including the use of antibiotics. The Nordic guidelines highlight that antibiotics should be prescribed only with strict indications and the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics should be avoided. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that common, localised dental infections may occasionally develop into severe life-threatening infections. Whenever antibiotic treatment is considered in addition to surgical drainage it should be started an hour before the procedure to avoid spread of the infection when manipulating infected tissues. It is essential that dentists can identify the patients with systemic infection or increased infection risk. Antibiotics are needed in severe infections and for patients with increased risk of infection complications, but primarily, acute dental infections are always treated by efficient drainage and elimination of the infection focus. KEY POINTS • Acute dental infections should primarily be treated by drainage and removal of the infection focus • Antibiotics should only be prescribed if there are signs of spreading infection and in suspicion of systemic infection or when local infection is judged not to heal with local treatment alone • Although the Nordic guidelines differ in some details they share the common feature that the base for treatment of dental infections is Pencillin V • Unnecessary use of antibiotics should be avoided because of the growing problem of antibiotic resistance

Comparative evaluation of postoperative pain following chemomechanical preparation of single-rooted nonvital teeth with symptomatic apical periodontitis with and without laser irradiation: A double-blind randomized placebo controlled clinical trial

“…[ 8 ] Underlying immunosuppressive conditions or treatments have been seen to increase the risk of infection complications and can lack typical signs of severe infection. [ 9 ] Therefore, the sample population was limited to healthy patients without any uncontrolled systemic diseases.…”