An investigation into possible factors that may impact on the potential for inappropriate prescriptions of antibiotics: a survey of general dental practitioners' approach to treating adults with acute dental pain

Objective To investigate factors that might influence inappropriate prescriptions of antibiotics (ABs) by UK-based general dental practitioners (GDPs) in their management of acute dental pain in adults in primary dental care. Methods A questionnaire was circulated via social media to UK-based GDPs. The questionnaire examined GDPs' likelihood of issuing an inappropriate AB in two hypothetical clinical scenarios. Results A total of 205 questionnaires were completed, of which 198 were included for analysis. The resulting data were analysed to try and identify factors that correlated with an increased likelihood of an inappropriate AB prescription being issued for each clinical scenario. The results suggested the following factors as being associated with a statistically greater chance of the survey respondent issuing an inappropriate AB prescription: no postgraduate qualification; received their primary dental qualification from a non-UK university; scheduled appointments of less than 20 minutes; and low confidence in their ability to provide adequate local anaesthesia for the patients in the clinical scenario. Conclusions Four factors were shown to be associated with dentists' stated intention to prescribe ABs for acute dental pain, not in accordance with guidance. These results should guide further research to understand the significance of appropriate AB prescribing on the quality of urgent dental care. While the total number of respondents was too low to enable the results to be generalised, it is hoped that the results may help guide future research. Further studies could focus on these factors to understand more about their impact on the urgent care of adult patients in pain. The impact of the restrictions caused by the response to COVID-19 needs to be considered.

Automated summary

The study investigated factors influencing inappropriate prescriptions of antibiotics by UK-based general dental practitioners in managing acute dental pain. Results identified four factors associated with dentists prescribing antibiotics not in accordance with guidance. Further research is needed to understand the impact of appropriate antibiotic prescribing on the quality of urgent dental care.