Antibiotic Stewardship Practices in Dentistry: A Team Approach!

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health threat, with “superbug” infections occurring in 2.8 million people in the US each year. Antibiotic misuse and overuse are the primary reasons for the development of antibiotic resistance and adverse reactions—most notably life-threatening Clostridioides difficile infection (C. Diff). The risk/benefit of prescribing antibiotics must always be considered before prescribing any antibiotic.

Antibiotic stewardship is the effort to measure and improve how antibiotics are prescribed by clinicians and used by patients. Appropriate antibiotic prescribing means prescribing antibiotics only when indicated, then choosing the right antibiotic, the right dose, and the right duration.

In this program, guidelines for use of antibiotics for prophylaxis and treatment in dentistry will be reviewed, and challenges to responsible prescribing will be discussed. Attendees will be provided with numerous clinical tips, tools and resources for all dental team members to promote antibiotic stewardship in their own practice.

“The educational teaching methodology used in this course is live, interactive lecture presented via Zoom webinar with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Both the live webinar and the PowerPoint presentation incorporate a variety of audio and visual cues to enhance audience members’ understanding and retention of key concepts. In addition, question and answer periods are provided for at the conclusion of each section of the live webinar.”

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course the participants should be able to:

1. Describe how antibiotic resistance occurs and some of the most important antibiotic resistance issues.
2. Understand the impact that unnecessary antibiotic exposure has on patient harm including antibiotic resistance and Clostridiodes difficile infection.
3. Review guidelines for management of odontogenic infections and guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis.
4. Identify key antibiotic stewardship issues in dentistry and provide approaches and tools that may be implemented by all dental staff.