Knowledge Awareness And Practice On The Use Of Antibiotics In Endodontic Infections Among Indian Population

Antibiotics have given an improved aspect to the paraphernalia that is used by various medical health practitioners for the treatment and management of various infections that are bacterial in origin and play an essential role in dental sciences as well. The aim of this study is to spread awareness on when antibiotics should and should not be used as well to assess the present status among undergraduate students about the knowledge of the same. A questionnaire was created with 14 questions and was circulated among students who have started their clinical training. 264 applicants were screened and evaluated as part of the present study. It was found thatWhen questioned whether the prescription of an antibiotic in the case of a swelling after obturation, 56.82% agreed that it was necessary whereas 27.27% did not agree and the rest were unsure. Majority of the Participants reported that the absolute indication for antibiotic prescription is Pulpitis. On questioning on the use of antibiotics for a patient with HIV, 53.79% reported that it should not be done. 45.45% of the population reported to the use of antibiotics irrespective of the presence of fever or swelling after an extraction procedure which is definitely a red flag. The most preferred antibiotic among the study population was found to be Amoxicillin. There are various aspects in which lacunae exists regarding the prescribing patterns of antibiotics in a dental practice. Further programmes are to be conducted to improve the same.