According to one study, 80% of antibiotics prescribed by dentists are useless

Dentists prescribe 10% of all antibiotics in the United States – one of the highest rates of any medical specialty.

In other words, they prescribe 26.6 million antibiotic treatments administered each year out of 266 million.

But according to a new study, 80% of these (about 21.3 million prescriptions) are not needed, mainly in the western United States.

The Chicago researchers' study, published in the JAMA Network Open today, is the first attempt to nationally assess how and where dentists prescribe these drugs, to determine areas where we could reduce our consumption.

"The use of preventative antibiotics in these patients exposes them to the risks associated with the use of antibiotics – increased bacterial resistance and infections, for example – when the evidence used to develop the guidelines suggest that the risks outweigh the benefits in most patients, "Katie said. Suda, the corresponding author of the study.

The more antibiotics we take, the sooner we become resistant to life-saving drugs.

Despite global efforts to limit the use of antibiotics, little has changed in recent decades, but few studies have sought to find out why.

One obvious area to target was the practice of prescribing antibiotics prior to a dental visit, called antibiotic prophylaxis, in people at high risk of joint and cardiac prostheses.

However, research has suggested that this would be neither necessary nor effective. This is why the new American rules on dentistry published in 2007 and tightened again in 2013 indicate that only the highest risk individuals should get pills by appointment.

According to the new study conducted by Suda, associate professor at the University of Illinois' School of Pharmacy, Chicago, not everyone is aware of this change of direction.

His team reviewed 168,420 dental visits and prescriptions, compared to the national average of those who should be prescribed antibiotics proportionately.

They found that 81% of prescriptions did not meet national guidelines and were intended for patients who did not have high-risk heart conditions.

Most unnecessary prescriptions were made to people in the western United States, to women, to joint replacements and to dental implants.

Clindamycin was the most commonly used antibiotic, which gave Dr. Suda a break, as it was the most common antibiotic associated with C. difficile infections, attacking the lining of the intestine.

"Until recently, little attention has been paid to the use of antibiotics in dentistry," wrote Emily S. Spivak, MD, of the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Medicine. University of Utah, in a comment for JAMA.

Dr. Spivak added, "This is an interesting discovery, suggesting that perhaps a phenomenon of" disturbing good "could be the driving prescription."

Susan Rowan, Associate Dean and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at the UIC College of Dentistry, who has worked with Suda on research, said:

"I think that dental providers should consider this study, which is the first to review the prescription of antibiotics as a preventative for dental procedures and to provide this type of actionable information, as a powerful appeal. to the action, and not as a reprimand. "