Antibiotic prescribing by general dental practitioners in the Greater Glasgow Health Board, Scotland

Roy, K. and Bagg, J. (2000) Antibiotic prescribing by general dental practitioners in the Greater Glasgow Health Board, Scotland. British Dental Journal, 188(12), pp. 674-676. (doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4800574)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate antibiotic prescribing patterns by general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the Greater Glasgow Health Board Area, Scotland. STUDY DESIGN: A 10% sample of prescriptions were selected at random from 35,545 prescriptions written by GDPs over a 6-month period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Absolute and relative frequencies were used to describe the different classes of antibiotics used and the variations in prescribing practice. RESULTS: GDPs prescribed a wide range of antibiotics. Seventeen different antibiotics were prescribed with amoxycillin, metronidazole and penicillin V accounting for almost 90% of the prescriptions. In general the antibiotics were prescribed at the British National Formulary (BNF) recommended doses. There were, however, wide variations in the frequencies and durations of the prescriptions for all antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides evidence of sub-optimal prescribing of antibiotics by dentists in Scotland, with considerable variation from the recommended frequencies and doses.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bagg, Professor Jeremy and Roy, Dr Kirsty
• Authors: Roy, K., and Bagg, J.
• Subjects: R Medicine > RK Dentistry; R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Dental School
• Journal Name: British Dental Journal
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group for the British Dental Association
• ISSN: 0007-0610
• ISSN (Online): 1476-5373
• Published Online: 24 June 2000
• Copyright Holders: © Copyright British Dental Journal
• First Published: First published in the British Dental Journal 188(12):674-676
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher