Knowledge Regarding Antibiotic Abuse amongst Dental Students of a Dental College in North India

Aim: Dentists are probably contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance to certain level. Antibiotics are prescribed by dentists in dental practice, during dental treatment as well as for prevention of infection. The objective of this study is to comprehensively evaluate antibiotic prescription knowledge, it�s correct dosage and its basic requirement to be advised by dental students of a dental college in North India. This paper highlights the need for dentists to improve antibiotic prescribing practices in an attempt to curb the increasing resistance and other side effects of antibiotic abuse. Material and methods: A pre designed questionnaire was carried out on students of third year, final year and interns of a dental college of north India. A total of three hundred and twenty one students including all the batches attending clinical postings and lectures were included in the study. A questionnaire with 11 questions was prepared following a likart scale of 3 grading system with answers graded as �Yes, No and Don�t know�. Result: The response rate was 100 %, 321 fully completed the questionnaire. All the analysis was done using SPSS version 18. A p-value of