Survey Reveals Concerning Prescription Practices(2)
Survey Reveals Concerning Prescription Practices According to new research, dentists may be overprescribing medications per guidelines set forth by the American Dental Association (ADA) and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). Published in January’s Journal of the American Dental Association,
Survey Reveals Concerning Prescription Practices
According to new research, dentists may be overprescribing medications per guidelines set forth by the American Dental Association (ADA) and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). Published in January’s Journal of the American Dental Association, the results of a cross-sectional study in which 154 dentists (106 general dentists and 48 pediatric dentists) completed a survey of five clinical case scenarios, showed that adherence to prescription guidelines ranged from just 10% to 42%.
Study authors William R. Cherry, DDS, MS; Jessica Y. Lee, DDS, MPH, PhD; Daniel A. Shugars, DDS, PhD; Raymond P. White, Jr, DDS, PhD; and William F. Vann, Jr, DMD, PhD, analyzed data collected from survey questionnaires distributed to North Carolina dentists attending a continuing education event. The mean age of respondents was 47 years, and the mean number of years in practice was 19.
The low adherence rates to prescription guidelines are worrisome, particularly because United States dentists write between 200 million and 300 million antibiotic prescriptions each year, the authors report. When antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily, the body can develop antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, cites Lee, associate professor of pediatric dentistry at University of North Carolina, School of Dentistry (UNCSD) in Chapel Hill.
Survey responses led the authors to conclude that dentists who had completed post-graduate education (51%) were more likely to adhere to ADA/AAPD prescription guidelines. Rural dentists and dentists who saw more than 15 pediatric patients per week were less likely to adhere to guidelines and more inclined to reach for their prescription pad, the authors noted.
In response to the survey, AAPD spokesperson Paul S. Casamassimo, DDS, MS, commented that because the surveys were completed only by dentists who had graduated from UNCSD, the prescription practices unveiled by this study may not be an accurate representation of all dentists.
