Search

Introduction: Inappropriate use of antibiotics not only drives antibiotic resistance and misuses resources but also increases the risk of potentially fatal reactions and exposes people to unnecessary side effects and unfavorable outcomes ranging from gastrointestinal disturbances to fatal anaphylactic shock.In developed countries, surveys about general dental practitioners’ prescribing habits have raised awareness of the quality of prescriptions of antibiotics.Whilst some surveys have emphasized that dental prescriptions do not follow clinical guidelines, other authors have concluded that there is a lack of scientific information about appropriate and efficient prescription of proper antibiotic. Also, Dental pharmacotherapeutic field is in continuous change especially in the recent years, this fact necessitates constant update in dental practitioners’ knowledge about new drugs, drug interactions, and useful therapeutic trends. Methods: We have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among dentists and dental trainee in Riyadh city. The questionnaire required information about antibiotic prescription habits, knowledge about preventive majors of dental infection, and followed approaches in dental emergencies. Data collected through distribution of online filled questionnaire. The participants filled the questionnaire online then resent it again to the researcher. Collected data verified and coded before its entry to Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Results: Participants classified into categories by age: from 20 to 24 years (30.9%), from 25 to 30 years (53.9%), from 31 to 35 years (8.6%) and above 35 years (6.6%). More than half of participants were Dental graduates (56.4%%), (37%) were students and Interns, (6.2%) were with Master/ Diploma and only one of them with PhD (.4%).The majority of participants prescribed antibiotic for acute apical abscess (72.8%), on the other hand, less than half of participants (45.7%) prescribed antibiotics for acute apical abscess without systemic involvement, and nearly two thirds (65.4%) of participants prescribed antibiotic for medically compromised patient after tooth extraction. Conclusion: It is worrying that, most dental practitioners do not perform a proper microbial sensitivity before selecting an antibiotic as a supplementary periodontal treatment, which result in prescribing broad spectrum antibiotics depending on the most probable diagnosis. However, both the misunderstanding of antibiotic prescription indications and improper knowledge about antibiotics is a contributing factor for the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Educational initiatives and continuous sustenance of knowledge are a preventing factor for unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in the endodontic emergency treatments. Keywords: Dental Awareness, Prescription , Antibiotic, , Abscess, Education