Awareness of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance amongst dental students / Conscientização sobre uso e resistência à antibióticos entre estudantes de odontologia

Objective: Antibiotic resistance is one of the most threatening public health problems of 20th century. Along with physicians, dental practitioners also routinely prescribe medications for oral and dental infections. However, previous studies have shown that dental surgeons often prescribe antibiotics where new evidence have suggested other treatment measures. Since students in their clinical year prescribe antibiotics under supervision, it is important to understand if they are aware of severity of antibiotic resistance and its impact. Hence, the study aimed to assess awareness of antibiotic use and resistance amongst dental students. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst 3rd and 4th year dental students of 4 colleges of Pakistan. A validated questionnaire was adopted from WHO and PHE (Public Health England). It included true or false and Likert scale questions relating to knowledge and attitude of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. Results:Out of 396 responses, majority students were not aware of the terms superbugs (69.7%) and AMR (79%). 89.6% thought that humans can become resistant to antibiotics. 88.6% agreed that antibiotic resistance is a major threat. 61.4% thought they couldn't do much to stop antibiotic resistance. 87.6% agreed that doctors should only prescribe antibiotics when needed. Conclusion: Overall dental students were aware of antibiotic use and importance of antibiotic resistance although their knowledge associated with antibiotic resistance was not satisfactory. It is vital that students must be taught about mechanism of antibiotic resistance and good prescription practices. (AU)

Objetivo: A resistência antibiótica é um dos problemas de saúde pública mais ameaçadores do século 20. Assim como os médicos, os profissionais de odontologia também prescrevem rotineiramente medicamentos para infecções bucais e dentárias. No entanto, estudos prévios apontam que cirurgiões-dentistas prescrevem antibióticos para casos nos quais, as mais recentes evidências, indicam outros tipos de intervenção. Considerando que os estudantes prescrevem antibióticos durante estágios clínicos, sob supervisão, torna-se pertinente averiguar se os mesmos estão cientes da severidade da resistência antibiótica e as suas implicações. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o grau de conscientização quanto ao uso e a resistancia antibiótica entre os estudantes de odontologia. Material e Métodos: Pesquisa transversal foi conduzida entre os estudantes do 3o e 4o ano em 4 universidades do Paquistão. Foram utilizados questionários validados pela Organização mundial de Saúde e Saúde pública da Inglaterra. Estes incluíram perguntas de verdadeiro ou falso e escala relacionadas ao conhecimento e aplicação de antibióticos e resistência à estes. Resultados: Dentre as 396 respostas, a maioria dos estudantes não conhecia o termo superbactéria (69.7%) e AMR (79%). 89,6% pensaram que humanos podem se tornar resistentes à antibióticos. 88,6% concordaram que a resistência à antibióticos é uma grande ameaça. 61,4% pensaram que eles não havia muito o que eles pudessem fazer para combater a resistência antibiótica. 87.,6% concordaram que médicos devem prescrever antibióticos apenas quando estritamente necessário. Conclusão: No geral, estudantes de Odontologia estão cientes do uso de antibióticos e a importância da resistência antimicrobiana embora o seu conhecimento a cerca do assunto não seja satisfatório. É vital que os estudantes sejam orientados sobre os mecanismos de resistência antibiótica e as práticas adequadas de prescrição desses medicamentos (AU)

Role of Teledentistry in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Comparative Analysis among Dental Professionals.

OBJECTIVES: To assess knowledge, awareness, and practice of health care workers about the role of teledentistry in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prevalidated structured questionnaire was used to evaluate awareness of general dentists, postgraduate dental students, dental educators, and consultants with postgraduation degrees toward teledentistry. The acceptability, reliability, and language clarity were also pretested. A total of 510 dental professionals contributed to this study. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: A statistical analysis using SPSS (version 20.0) was performed. Responses were noted as yes or no. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered to be significant. Frequencies described data. Chi-square test was performed for intergroup comparison to evaluate if the knowledge and attitude diverge with the increase in the level of seniority in the profession. RESULTS: Awareness regarding teledentistry is high among general dentists with bachelor of dental surgery qualification in comparison to final-year students and postgraduate dental students. The majority of participants agreed with improvement in health care (88.20%), access to rural areas (82.90%), and general practicing dentist agreed with statistically significant difference (0.00) on saving time by teledentistry. CONCLUSION: General practicing dentist was observed with high awareness of teledentistry as compared with postgraduate and undergraduate dental students.