Effect of governmental strategies on antibiotic prescription in dentistry

Abstract

Objective: To study the effect of governmental strategies, to constitute and publish recommendations on antibiotic usage in dentistry, on the antibiotic consumption.

Material and methods: Descriptive statistics regarding antibiotic prescription between 2009 and 2017 was retrieved from two national registers, the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register and the Dental Health register, both administered by the National Board of Health and Welfare. Age standardization was applied to alleviate the comparison between gender, different regions and years.

Results: The number of dispatched prescriptions of antibiotics from dentists was reduced with 31% during the study period. 10% of the visits to a dentist generated an antibiotic prescription corresponding to 7% of the total number of antibiotic prescriptions. A decline in prescription was observed after publication of national recommendations for antibiotics prophylaxis in 2012 and antibiotic treatment in 2014. Unexplained geographical and gender differences in the rates of prescription were seen.

Conclusions: Data indicates a correlation between introduction of governmental strategies to reduce antibiotic usage and declining antibiotic prescription. Although a marked reduction in prescription was observed, the results indicate that there is further potential for improvement of antibiotic stewardship in odontology.