Abstract
Introduction: This review revisits clinical use of antibiotics for most common acute oro-dental conditions; we aim to provide evidence governing antibiotics use when access to oral healthcare is not available, as during the ongoing outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
 Materials and methods: In this rapid review, articles were retrieved after conducting a search on PubMed and Google Scholar. Relevant publications were selected and analyzed. Most recent systematic reviews with/without meta-analyses and societal guidelines were selected. Data were extracted, grouped, and synthesized according to the respective subtopic analysis.
 Results and discussion: There was evidence supporting the use of antibiotics in common oro-dental conditions as temporary measure when immediate care is not accessible, such as in case of localized oral swellings as well as to prevent post-extraction complications. No sufficient evidence could be found in support of antibiotic use for pain resulting from pulpal origin.
 Conclusion: Antibiotic use may be justified to defer treatment temporarily or reduce risk of complications in case of localized infection and tooth extraction, when no access to immediate dental care is possible.
 Graphical abstract:
 
Highlights
This review revisits clinical use of antibiotics for most common acute oro-dental conditions; we aim to provide evidence governing antibiotics use when access to oral healthcare is not available, as during the ongoing outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
In 2016, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that around 9.5% of all antibiotics prescriptions was attributed to the dental field (Center for Disease Control 2016)
2019 Urgent management Recommended antibiotics use in case of pulpal and of no immediate access to dental care in periapical-related case of risk of systemic involvement Not dental pain and recommended if direct access to dental intraoral swelling care is available
Summary
This review revisits clinical use of antibiotics for most common acute oro-dental conditions; we aim to provide evidence governing antibiotics use when access to oral healthcare is not available, as during the ongoing outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Results and discussion: There was evidence supporting the use of antibiotics in common oro-dental conditions as temporary measure when immediate care is not accessible, such as in case of localized oral swellings as well as to prevent post-extraction complications. Despite the general decline in antibiotic prescriptions in the last decade, Durkin et al recently showed that around 14% of antibiotic prescriptions by general dentists in the United States were inappropriate (Durkin et al 2018). This may hold true and even higher in other areas of the world
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