Evaluation of the Level of Knowledge and Awareness of Dentists about the Use of Antibiotics in Periodontal Treatment

Aim: Antibiotics are widely used in dentistry and are essential in periodontal treatment. The purpose of the study is to evaluate dentists' knowledge and awareness levels about the use of antibiotics in periodontal therapy and to find out in which cases they prescribe antibiotics to their patients. Material and Methods: The participants consisted of 150 volunteer dentists. They were asked to fill in the questionnaire that consisted of related questions. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests determined the relationship between categorical variables. Statistical significance level p<0.05 was accepted as significant. Results: The study included 105 (67.7%) female and 50 (32.3%) male participants. It was revealed that the antibiotics most prescribed by dentists in periodontal treatment procedures were amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (80%) and metronidazole (57%). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the dentists' "expertise/doctoral status" and the question’’Prescribing antibiotics’’ in the tooth surface cleaning and root surface straightening, crown lengthening, crest augmentation, and sinus lifting procedures. After periodontal surgical procedures, they mostly preferred to use antibiotics for 5 (23.4%) and seven days (24%) after the process. The study also argued that most participants prescribed antibiotics in addition to non-surgical mechanical therapy, believing that it improves clinical outcomes (70.5%) and reduces post-operative complications (70.5%). Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that dentists need to be more aware of the use of antibiotics in periodontal treatment procedures.

Keywords:

survey study, antibiotic usage periodontal therapy,

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