Abstract
BackgroundThe prescription of prophylactic antibiotics in conjunction with oral implant surgery remains inconsistent among different populations of dentists. The main objective of this study was to assess the current antibiotic prescribing habits of dentist in conjunction with oral implant surgery in Italy. The secondary objective was to assess the nature and amount (mg) of antibiotics prescriptions in order to evaluate whether any consensus has been reached and if the current recommendations are complied.MethodsObservational cross-sectional study based on a web-survey reported according to the STROBE guidelines. A questionnaire was sent via email to each registered member of the Italian Academy of Osseointegration (n = 400). The email included a link to the anonym web questionnaire developed on www.encuestafacil.com. It contained close-ended and some open-ended questions concerning demographics, antibiotic type, prescription duration and dosage. Collected data were analyzed using STATA® 14 software.Results160 participants responded the survey (response rate = 40%). Approximately 84% routinely prescribed prophylactic antibiotics in conjunction with oral implant surgery, 15.6% prescribed antibiotics in certain situations and only 1 did not prescribe antibiotics at all. Overall, 116 respondents prescribed both pre- and postoperative antibiotics, 29 prescribed antibiotics only preoperatively and 14 prescribed antibiotics exclusively after surgery. Italian dentists prescribed an average amount of 10,331 mg antibiotics before, during or after oral implant surgery. Approximately, only 17% (n = 27) of the participants who prescribed antibiotics before oral implant surgery complied with the recommendations proposed by the latest publications (no more than 3 g of preoperative amoxicillin before oral implant surgery).ConclusionsDentists in Italy on a large scale prescribe antibiotic prophylaxis in conjunction with oral implant surgery among healthy patients. A high range of prophylactic regimens is prescribed and they are not adhering to the new science-based specifications. Guidelines focused on the indications for prophylactic antibiotics among healthy patients are required to prevent bacterial resistance, side effects and costs caused by overtreatment and the irrational use of antibiotics.
Highlights
The prescription of prophylactic antibiotics in conjunction with oral implant surgery remains inconsistent among different populations of dentists
The use of prophylactic antibiotics to reduce the incidence of postoperative infections and oral implant failures in healthy patients is still controversial [5, 6]
Several reviews have found no evidence supporting the prophylactic effect of antibiotics on postoperative infections, and they have remained inconclusive on the prevention of oral implant failures [2, 7,8,9,10,11,12]
Summary
The prescription of prophylactic antibiotics in conjunction with oral implant surgery remains inconsistent among different populations of dentists. The main objective of this study was to assess the current antibiotic prescribing habits of dentist in conjunction with oral implant surgery in Italy. Different prophylactic treatments such as the use of perioperative antibiotics have been studied [4]. The use of prophylactic antibiotics to reduce the incidence of postoperative infections and oral implant failures in healthy patients is still controversial [5, 6]. Several reviews have found no evidence supporting the prophylactic effect of antibiotics on postoperative infections, and they have remained inconclusive on the prevention of oral implant failures [2, 7,8,9,10,11,12]. Many professionals disagree on the utility of antibiotics and which is the most suitable regimen to adopt [13,14,15,16,17,18]
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