Dental Public Research Articles

Spin in dental publications: a scoping review.

The aim of this review was to map the practice of spin in scientific publications in the dental field. After registering the review protocol (osf.io/kw5qv/), a search was conducted in MEDLINE via PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, Scopus, LILACS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and OpenGrey databases in June 2023. Any study that evaluated the presence of spin in dentistry was eligible. Data were independently extracted in duplicate by two reviewers. After removing duplicates, 4888 records were screened and 38 were selected for full-text review. Thirteen studies met the eligibility criteria, all of which detected the presence of spin in the primary studies, with the prevalence of spin ranging from 30% to 86%. The most common types of spin assessed in systematic reviews were failure to mention adverse effects of interventions and to report the number of studies/patients contributing to the meta-analysis of main outcomes. In randomized controlled trials, there was a focus on statistically significant within-group and between-group comparisons for primary or secondary outcomes (in abstract results) and claiming equivalence/noninferiority/similarity for statistically nonsignificant results (in abstract conclusions). The practice of spin is widespread in dental scientific literature among different specialties, journals, and countries. Its impact, however, remains poorly investigated.

Clinicians’ perceptions of domestic violence routine screening in public dentistry

Clinicians’ perceptions of domestic violence routine screening in public dentistry

Dental professionals participating in a home visiting programme for first-time parents.

A home visiting programme was offered to first-time parents in the south of Sweden to reduce health inequalities among young children and support parents. The programme involved a collaboration between child healthcare nurses and midwives, social workers, and dental hygienists/dental nurses. It is unusual for dental professionals to participate in such programmes. To describe the experiences of collaboration between child healthcare nurses and dental professionals and their views on the programme from a dental perspective. Qualitative semi-structured interview study with content analysis. Four child healthcare nurses, three dental hygienists, and two dental nurses. Analysis identified five themes: contribution of knowledge, reinforced oral health advice, family-based oral health advice, financial considerations, and future role of the dental care. Participants stressed the importance of dental professionals' knowledge, the need for child healthcare nurses and dental professional to conduct home visits together to deliver family-based and reinforced dental advice. They suggested a follow-up visit and the participation of the public dental service before a private dental care provider since most children will visit a public dentist later. The programme was perceived as worth the costs, but for the best utility, the resources should primarily be for non-native parents. Further research should focus on the effect of the home visiting programme on the children's oral health.

Formation of Soviet dentistry: 1918—1921

The main task of the Dentistry subsection of the People's Commissariat for Health, established in August 1918, was the creation of qualified, free, scheduled dental care in the country, accessible to the general population. Dentistry reform had to be carried out under the conditions of post-revolutionary devastation, famine and the Civil War, in the absence of sufficient funding, appropriate material base, with a significant shortage of dentists and their negative attitude towards the changes taking place. The problem of lack of equipment, materials and medicines was solved by nationalization of private dental offices, and the dentists who were left without equipment were forced to perform labor, and not all of them were able to survive those difficult years. Nevertheless, in the RSFSR a network of state outpatient dental clinics was created, which after the country's transition to the New Economic Policy began to rapidly erode - a sustainable system of free public dentistry was to be created at another time and under different economic conditions.

Deployment of dentists in COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing: An example from Turkey.

In Turkey, dentists working in public dental care centers were deployed in COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CICT) teams during the pandemic. This study aims to explore the experiences of the dentists assigned to teams undertaking COVID-19 CICT practices to determine how healthcare workers should be supported when working in pandemic response and other crises. The sample of this qualitative, phenomenological study consisted of thirty four public dentists assigned to COVID-19 CICT practices in four metropolitan areas of Turkey. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews that were conducted online in August and September 2020. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Six themes were revealed: preparation for CICT, basic requirements, work relations, working conditions, being a dentist assigned to CICT and COVID-19 pandemic management. The dentists complained that they were not appropriately assigned to CICT, as they lacked the preparations and sufficient training. They had to acquire personal protective equipment and other basic needs at their own expense. The working conditions were severe, and they had negative relations at work. The State and the Ministry of Health were criticized for inadequate implementation of institutional measures for COVID-19 pandemic management. The study showed that dentists were motivated to participate in the management of pandemics and similar crisis situations, but in a negative work environment - where they were deployed without adequate training, preparation, and ensuring their basic needs and requirements were met - they lost this motivation, and experienced stress and feelings of inadequacy.

Career Satisfaction of Malaysian Dentists With Expanded Roles at a Specialist Clinic

Public dentists interested in postgraduate studies were required to complete clinical attachments at the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) Dental Specialist Clinic (DSC). This cross-sectional quantitative study aimed to explore career satisfaction (CS) and barriers perceived by Malaysian dentists at Malaysia's MOH DSC. A total of 208 dentists from DSC nationwide completed an online questionnaire in June 2022. Demographic data and information on dentists' expanded roles were retrieved. Responses on dentists' satisfaction and perceived barriers were collected using a 5-point ordinal scale. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the mean rank differences for CS. Factors influencing CS were analysed using multiple logistic regression (MLR) (P < .05). The mean age of the respondents was 32.68 ± 2.48 years. Almost half (49.0%) of the respondents were attached to a non-hospital-based clinic. The majority (72.0%) of them were permanently attached to the DSC. About half of the dentists (51.0%) strongly agreed that they received no financial incentives for their expanded role at the MOH DSC. Dentists attached at a non-hospital-based clinic (P=.046), working with more than 15 years of experience (P=.013), and having 12 to 18 months' duration of attachment (P=.014) were more satisfied. MLR analysis revealed that non-Malay respondents (odds ratio [OR], 1.54; P=.035) and those who applied for scholarships more than 3 times (OR, 1.85; P=.050) were more satisfied. In contrast, more than 19 months at the DSC decreased CS (OR, 0.44; P=.029). Despite having a similar organisational structure, DSC dentists had different satisfaction levels. Dentists' ethnicity, duration of attachment, and frequency of applying for scholarships influenced their CS. Future career advancement plans in the MOH should consider these important influencing factors to ensure the delivery of quality health care from their personnel.

Impact of COVID-19 Dentistry-Related Literature: An Altmetric Study

Scientific literature on COVID-19 has grown rapidly during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the popularity on the web of the available dental publications on COVID-19 and to examine associations amongst article characteristics, online mentions, and citations. An Altmetric Explorer search was conducted for COVID-19 articles published in dental journals using 3 keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and pandemic. The following Altmetric data were collected: Altmetric attention score (AAS), mentions by news outlets, tweets, Mendeley readers, and Web of Science citations. Additionally, article title, type, topic, origin and open access status, journal title, quartile of impact factor (IF) distribution, and time lapse between COVID-19 pandemic onset and publication date were analysed. In all, 253 articles published in 48 dental journals were eligible for the study. AAS was significantly influenced by article topic, type, origin, and journal IF quartile. There was a negligible correlation between AAS and Web of Science citations. Mendeley was the only Altmetric source highly correlated with citations. There was substantial online interest in COVID-19 dentistry-related literature, as depicted by the AAS of the reviewed articles and social media metrics. Mendeley reader counts were highly correlated with citations, and they may therefore be valuable in research impact evaluation.

Knowledge of dental professionals and Dental students on bisphosphonates and bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws

Introduction and objective: the present study assessed the knowledge of dentists and dental students about bisphosphonates and bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws (BAONJ). Methodology: a survey was applied to dentists and dental students during dental meetings in the city of Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil. Results were descriptively and comparatively analyzed using the SPSS program. Results: the final sample (n=308) was composed mostly by young adults, females (n=233; 76%) and 52% (n=159) were dental students. Most participants (n=185; 60%) were derived from private dental schools. From the total, 79% (n=243) of the participants told they had some information about bisphosphonates, 68% (n=209) recognized BAONJ as a possible side effect of their use, and 84% (n=259) considered important to ask about bisphosphonates use during anamnesis. Participants with more access to information, derived from public dental schools and graduate dentists demonstrated a higher understanding about the indications for bisphosphonates use, their action mechanism, BAONJ as an adverse effect, risk factors associated with the drugs, oral risk factors and oral care measures important to BAONJ risk reduction. Conclusions: there are several knowledge gaps on bisphosphonates and BAONJ and understanding these difficulties is important for the establishment of strategies of diffusion of the information and changing teaching models in dental schools, dental meetings and extension activities.

Impact of COVID-19 on gender gap in dental publications: a retrospective cohort with three Brazilian journals.

This was a retrospective cohort study to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the gender gap in articles submitted to three international dental journals based in Brazil. All submissions performed to Brazilian Dental Journal, Brazilian Oral Research, and Journal of Applied Oral Science before (2019) and during the pandemic (2020) were assessed. Gender of the first, last, and corresponding authors were collected. Other variables collected were journal, continent studied by authors and stage of their careers (classified according to authors' highest degree), and final decision reached in the article. Absolute and relative frequencies with 95% confidence intervals, Pearson's Chi-square tests, and Fisher's Exact test were used (α = 0.05). In total, 4,726 unique submissions were analyzed. A higher proportion of early-career authors was observed during the pandemic (44.8% to 49.3%, p = 0.021). Most articles were rejected but without association with gender. Increased proportion of male first authors from before to during the pandemic was observed (39% to 42.1%, p = 0.034). Drop in the proportion of articles with women as first authors was observed for researchers in their early- (65.9% to 58.8%, p = 0.02) and mid-career stages (63% to 55.8%, p = 0.014). Reduction in women as first authors was observed during the pandemic in South and Central Americas (66.7% to 61.5%, p = 0.010), and when the last author was a female, or the corresponding author was a male. In conclusion, a disproportionate impact on female dental researchers in submitting articles in the period from before to during the pandemic was observed when considering first authorship, suggesting that the COVID-19 may have increased the gender inequality in dental science.

Launching a new dental publication: Journal of Japanese Dental Science Federation

Launching a new dental publication: Journal of Japanese Dental Science Federation

Socioeconomic differences in utilization of public and private dental care in Finland: Register-based evidence on a population aged 25 and over.

Dental care utilization is known to have a strong socioeconomic gradient, with lower socioeconomic groups utilizing less of these services despite having poorer dental health. However, less is known about the utilization of dental services in the population concurrently in the public and private sectors in different socioeconomic groups. Additionally, evidence on how different sectors contribute to the overall socioeconomic gradient in dental care utilization is scarce. This study examines visits and absence of visits to public and private dentists in the years 2017–2018 by education, occupational class and income. Comprehensive register data was collected from the total population aged 25 and over in the city of Oulu, Finland (N = 118,397). The data were analyzed with descriptive methods and with multinomial logistic regressions for the probability of visits and with negative binomial regressions for the number of visits, adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. The results showed a clear socioeconomic gradient for the probability of visits according to income and education: the higher the income and the higher the education, the more likely was a visit to a dentist–especially a private dentist–during the two-year period. Similar results were obtained for the number of visits. Higher socioeconomic status was less associated with public dentist visits. While those with the lowest income visited public dentists more frequently than private dentists, their overall visits fell below that of others. Adjusted estimates by occupation did not show a clear socioeconomic gradient. The socioeconomic inequality in dentist visits in a country having a universally covered public dental care scheme puts a challenge for decision makers in designing an equal dental health care system. Experimenting with lower co-payments is a possible option.

Work and health characteristics of oral health providers who stay healthy at work – a prospective study in public dentistry

Objectives Research into work-related factors that positively influence Oral Health Providers (OHPs) health is scarce. This study aimed to analyse which OHPs in dental services remain healthy over time in relation to work- and health-related factors. Methods OHPs took part in this prospective cohort study (n = 168). In 2012 and 2014 they answered a questionnaire featuring questions about demographics, health indicators, work and organisational factors. Results OHPs were classified into three subgroups; healthy group (n = 66), semi-healthy group (n = 45) and unhealthy group (n = 57). The healthy group reported no sick leave or sickness presence in 2012 or 2014. Factors that explained a greater likelihood of belonging to the healthy group were: good work ability, not having neck pain, perceived low exertion at the end of the working day, not having sleeping problems. They scored higher on health indicators than OHPs in the unhealthy group. Conclusions OHPs with no sick leave or sickness presence report much better salutogenic health, better physical work ability and lower perceived exertion at the end of their workday compared with unhealthy group of OHPs. Understanding the relationship between working conditions and well-being is crucial to target interventions for OHPs which improve work conditions and health.

The Top 102 Most Cited Publications Relevant to Dental Education

Background: Growth and development in dental education globally depend on effective experience sharing and advocation of evidence-based practice, preferably tested via vigorous peer evaluation. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the most cited dental education publications. The objectives were to identify the most productive entities, and the most frequently investigated themes and specialties. Methods: A keyword literature search was performed on 1st June 2020 to identify publications relevant to dental education. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Campbell Collaboration databases were searched. Publications that dealt with dental education were included. Irrelevant publications were manually excluded by the authors, and disagreement was resolved by the senior author. Bibliographic data of the top 102 entries (some with equal citation ranks) were obtained from Scopus and analyzed using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer for characterization of recurring contributors and themes. Results: The top publications included 83 original articles, 15 reviews, 3 books, and 1 online document, written by 30 different authors, with 38 publications from dental journals not dedicated to education, and with an average of 5.5 citations per year. The most productive author was William Hendrickson. The most productive institutions were from Europe and the United States. There were 11 papers focused on operative dentistry, 9 on endodontology, 4 on special care dentistry, 2 on community dentistry, 2 on periodontology, and 2 on implantology. Within the top 102 list, 21 publications focused on the stress experienced by dental students at school. A multiple ANCOVA indicates that citation counts in these highly cited publications are associated with a number of authors and document types, such as “reviews/books/online document” compared with original articles (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Influential dental education studies were published on a variety of platforms. Over the past 20 years, the field witnessed the emergence of highly cited reports/articles. Similar to influential papers in various fields, the number of authors per top-cited dental education publications appeared to be associated with high citations indicating top quality and high appreciation/acceptance of the articles involved.

Outstanding doer of Russian dentistry Zakhar Borisovich Piryatinsky

he study is devoted to the professional and social activities of the outstanding Russian dentist, associate professor Zakhar Borisovich Piryatinsky. The paper presents an analysis of hard-to-reach literary sources and statements of contemporaries about Z.B. Piryatinsky. The data on the formation of Z.B. Piryatinsky as a dentist, his professional activities during the First World War and the Great Patriotic War, in the battles near Lake Khasan and the Khalkhin-Gol River, as well as in the Soviet-Finnish (winter) war of 1939—1940. His role in the opening of the Odontological Society, the first state dental laboratory at the Palace of Labor, the Institute of Public Dentistry, the dental laboratory in the center of Leningrad, which was reorganized into the Central Dental Polyclinic, then into the Scientific and Practical Dental Institute, and later — the Leningrad Dental Institute, was noted. In the conclusion, it is noted that, being one of the founders of domestic dentistry, as well as the school of dentists and maxillofacial surgeons, he is rightfully recognized as one of the patriarchs of national healthcare.

ПРИЧИНЫ ВОЗНИКНОВЕНИЯ КОНФЛИКТОВ В СТОМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ПРАКТИКЕ, ПУТИ ИХ ПРЕДОТВРАЩЕНИЯ И РАЗРЕШЕНИЯ

Significance: the number of conflicts related to realization of the right to health and medical care especially in such specific branch of medicine as dentistry has recently been on the rise in Russia. Furthermore, among the main fields of social interaction, a large number of interpersonal conflicts does relate to professional activity. Subject of research: conflicts and conflict situations in dental practice. Purpose of work: to identify main groups of causes of conflict situations and conflicts in dental practice and suggest ways to prevent and resolve them. Material and methods: questionnaire survey of dentists with additional interview of the respondents, mathematical and statistical data analysis using the SPSS Statistics software (Pearson chi-square tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests). Results: The majority of the respondents (59.0%) say that they have never had any conflicts with the administration. The leading cause of disagreement is dissatisfaction with the material base and supplies (35%). The prevailing share of the dentists (61.5%) indicate that conflicts between them and a colleague / nurse have never occurred. The main cause of the conflict communication is insubordination or lack of subordination, especially in rural areas and public facilities. Doctors of public healthcare facilities and dentists working in rural areas were more often in conflict with a colleague or manager. Almost all health workers (98%) note that they have encountered conflict patients. The main cause of the conflict communication is long waiting for a dental appointment (33.3%). Out of all factors influencing the relationship, about half of the respondents (53.0%) mentioned the emotional state of the patient. Out of all behavior strategies in conflicts, the majority of dentists (44%) prefer cooperation. Conclusion: Almost all (98%) dentists came into conflict with the patient. The main causes of these conflicts included: long waiting times for admission (33.3%), irrational work of the registry, the administrator (23.1%) and complaints about the quality of services (22.2%). Medical workers with average work experience (10-29 years) were more likely to conflict with the patient about claims to the quality of treatment (31.3%).

Approaches of Turkish Dentists in Cases of Orthodontic Lingual Retainer Failures.

This study aimed to investigate the approaches of Turkish dentists in cases of orthodontic lingual retainer failures. A self-administered questionnaire was used to quantify dentists' approaches to lingual retainer failures. The first part of the study investigated the demographic characteristics. In the second part, dentists' approaches to cases of failed retainers were assessed. The third part had questions related to the type of retainers bonded solely to the canines or to all the 6 anterior teeth. Descriptive statistics were done with Pearson's χ2 test, and Mann-Whitney U test was used. A total of 320 Turkish dentists participated in the survey. Experienced and public dentists preferred to advise the patients whose retainers had failed to contact their orthodontist more frequently (p<0.05). Regarding their approach to patients who requested removal of the bonded retainer, inexperienced dentists more frequently preferred to refer the patients to an orthodontist (p<0.05). With regard to factors affecting the choice to remove a bonded retainer, the most and the least importance were attributed to the orthodontist's opinion and the patient's demand, respectively. Turkish dentists prefer referring their patients to orthodontists rather than performing procedures in cases of failure associated with bonded retainers. Different demographic characteristics seem to have an impact on these approaches.

Canceling dental procedures due to elevated blood pressure: Is it appropriate?

BackgroundIn 1974, the American Dental Association first considered recommending that dental offices measure blood pressure (BP) routinely, and it has been further encouraged since 2006. Investigators in several dental publications have recommended cancellation of dental procedures based solely on BP greater than 180/110 millimeters of mercury for urgent oral health care and greater than 160/100 mm Hg for elective oral health care, in the absence of prior medical consultation. MethodsThe authors reviewed the evidence for cancellation of any dental or surgical procedures by using an Ovid MEDLINE search for the terms dental, elevated blood pressure, and hypertension. In addition, the authors searched resources at ebd.ada.org using the same criteria. The authors collaborated to develop recommendations in view of 2017 guidelines on this subject. ResultsTo the authors’ knowledge, there are no professionally accepted criteria or study evidence indicating a specific BP elevation at which to prohibit oral health care. Researchers of a 2015 review on management of comorbidities in ambulatory anesthesia failed to find increased morbidity from hypertension in the outpatient setting. ConclusionsTo the authors’ knowledge, there are no prospective study investigators that have addressed whether or when to cancel dental procedures due to office-measured elevated BP. The authors recommend using current anesthesiology guidelines based on functional status and past BP measurements to prevent unnecessary cancellations. Practical ImplicationsIt is seldom necessary to cancel dental procedures on the basis of BP measured before a planned procedure for patients under a physician’s care.

Use of Data Analysis Methods in Dental Publications: Is There Evidence of a Methodological Change?

Objectives: To evaluate how data analysis methods in dental studies have changed in recent years. Methods: A total of 400 articles published in 2010 and 2017 in five dental journals, Journal of Dental Research, Caries Research, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, Journal of Dentistry, and Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, were analyzed. The study characteristics and the reporting of data analysis techniques were systematically identified. Results: The statistical intensity of the dental journals did not change from 2010 to 2017. Dental researchers did not adopt the data mining, machine learning, or Bayesian approaches advocated in the computer-oriented methodological literature. The determination of statistical significance was the most generally used method for conducting research in both 2010 and 2017. Observational study designs were more common in 2017. Insufficient and incomplete descriptions of statistical methods were still a serious problem. Conclusion: The stabilization of statistical intensity in the literature suggests that papers applying highly computationally complex data analysis methods have not meaningfully contributed to dental research or clinical care. Greater rigor is required in reporting the methods in dental research articles, given the current pervasiveness of failure to describe the basic techniques used.

Profile of Public Dentistry Contests in the Southeast Region of Brazil

AbstractPublic contest is one of the best ways for health professionals to enter the Family Health Strategy (FHS) and other public health services. The objective of this study was to verify the profile of Dentistry public examinations in the southeast region, as well as to analyze the coherence between the proposal of FHS and the content on the professionals selection for this position. The examinations were retrieved by means of research of the sites: PCI Concursos and Folha Dirigida and sites of companies of greater representativeness in the competitive bidding in the states of the southeast region. From the entire southeastern region, 266 competitive examinations were obtained for the position of dental surgeon, from 2001 to 2017. For the data analysis,, three categories were created: QG, for the questions that included the general questions present in the tests; QT, individual technical questions that balance the requirements related to specific knowledge; and QC, corresponding to the questions related to collective character. In all the tests analyzed, the specific knowledge (QC and QT) had a higher prevalence among the contents charged. Among the areas that involved the individual technical questions, the subjects of Surgery, Dentistry, Stomatology and Pathology were the ones with the highest prevalence. Through the results, it can be seen that the public examinations for dental surgeons who want to work in the FHS in the states of the southeast region, most of them deal with knowledge of clinical dentistry specialties. Keywords: Dentists. Health Personnel. Examination Question. Resumo O concurso público é uma das melhores formas de inserção dos profissionais de saúde na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) e em outros serviços de saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar o perfil de provas de concursos públicos de Odontologia da região sudeste, bem como analisar a coerência entre a proposta da ESF e o conteúdo da seleção de profissionais para este cargo. Os exames foram recuperados por meio de pesquisa em dois sites bastante acessados que disponibilizam provas de concurso público no Brasil: PCI Concursos e Folha Dirigida e em sites de empresas de maior representatividade nas licitações de concurso nos estados da região sudeste. De toda a região foram obtidas 266 provas de concursos para o cargo de cirurgião dentista, no período de 2001 a 2017. Para análise dos dados foram criadas três categorias: QG, para os quesitos que englobaram as questões gerais presentes nas provas; QT, questões técnicas individuais que equivalem aos quesitos relacionados aos conhecimentos específicos; e QC, correpondendo aos quesitos relacionados ao caráter coletivo. Em todas as provas analisadas, os conhecimentos específicos (QC e QT) tiveram maior prevalência entre os conteúdos cobrados. Dentre as áreas que envolveram os quesitos técnicos individuais, as disciplinas de Cirurgia, Dentística, Estomatologia e Patologia foram as de maior prevalência. Através dos resultados, percebe-se que os concursos públicos para os cirurgiões dentistas que querem atuar na ESF nos estados da região sudeste, abordam em sua maioria conhecimentos de especialidades clínicas da Odontologia. Palavras-chave: Odontólogos. Pessoal da Saúde. Questão de Prova.

The Socio-cultural Dynamics of Antibiotic Misuse in Hyderabad City, India: a Qualitative Study of Dentist and Pharmacist

Background: Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic-associated adverse events are rapidly escalating and considered as a global health threat and public health problem. There is poor evidence base on the contextual specificities and everyday use of antibiotic in public health dentistry and pharmacy dispensing practices. The study explores the socio-cultural dynamics emergent around antimicrobials in the Indian Public dentistry and pharmacy practice in India.&#x0D; Methods: Using purposive sampling, dentists and pharmacists were recruited for the study in Hyderabad City, Telangana State, India. Using semi-structured interviews, dentists and pharmacists were asked about how antibiotics were prescribed and dispensed, perceptions of antibiotic use in community and socio-cultural norms prevailing in the use of the antimicrobial practice.&#x0D; Results: The dominant themes, emerged by both dentists and pharmacists, was the avoidance of dentist visit on encountering dental infection, reliance on self-medication, use of over-the-counter antibiotics and easy accessibility of antibiotics without prescription as a primary driver of antibiotic misuse and development of antimicrobial resistance, which is associated with socio-cultural practices and economic problems. &#x0D; Conclusions: The speculations of qualitative responses to antimicrobial resistance are profoundly entangled in the specificities of dental infection management across cultures and locales in daily life. This study emphasizes the need for enforcement of regulatory mechanism on antibiotic dispensing over the counters, educating dental patients in avoiding self medications, educational and training initiatives are necessary to sensitize and rationalize dentist and pharmacist in the use of antibiotics.