More Data is Needed to Help Guide Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in Dentistry

Lauri A. Hicks, Director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses how more data is needed to provide dentists with better guidelines for prescribing antibiotics.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“There are a number of reasons why dentists may need to prescribe an antibiotic, and there are certain circumstances where patients might need what we call a prophylactic dose of an antibiotic for a procedure. However, the frequency of prophylaxis has really decreased over time in terms of whether it’s needed; the data shows that, actually, prophylactic antibiotics are not needed for most conditions.

We don’t know very much about the ideal duration of therapy. In fact, guidelines for dental prescribing are quite limited and the data are needed to better guide dentists in their prescribing and durations. I think if we have that information available, then we’d be better able to guide and assess dental prescribing practices.”