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Pattern of antibiotic prescription among dentists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

AIM
The aim of the present study was to investigate the pattern of antibiotic prescription and dentists' awareness about the recent guidelines for antibiotic prescription.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 282 dentists practicing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected from 20 randomly-selected dental clinics from each of the five administrative blocks in Riyadh. In addition, data were also collected from four tertiary care centers and three academic universities. The questionnaire measured the antibiotic prescription pattern of the dentists and their choice of antibiotics for various dental conditions.


RESULTS
Amoxicillin was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic. More than 70% of dentists prescribed antibiotics for dental patients with various cardiac conditions. Bivariate analysis showed that female dentists had significantly higher mean scores for ideal prescription pattern (P = .04) compared to male dentists. Saudi nationals, especially those working in the government sector were found to have better prescription pattern compared with others (P = .02). Dentists with higher educational qualifications (board certificate and above) had a more ideal prescription pattern than other dentists (P = .04).


CONCLUSION
Inappropriate antibiotic prescription practice was highly prevalent in this population.