ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2016
Dental consultations in UK general practice and antibiotic prescribing rates: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient and System Barriers to Early Diagnosis of Oral Cancer in the UK.Oral diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Promoting regular dental attendance in problem-orientated dental attenders: A systematic review of potential interventions.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of interventions aiming to optimise the prescription of antibiotics in dental care-A systematic review.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- Costs-Outcome Description Arising From Side Effects due the Over-Prescription of Antibiotics in Oral Healthcare in Chile.Journal of oral pathology & medicine : official publication of the International Association of Oral Pathologists and the American Academy of Oral Pathology · 2025Article
- Patients' reasons for consulting a general practitioner at the time of having dental problems: a qualitative study.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- Hospitalisations Due to Dental Infection: A Retrospective Clinical Audit from an Australian Public Hospital.Dentistry journal · 2024Article
- Antibiotics in Dentistry: A Narrative Review of the Evidence beyond the Myth.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- The use of oral benzodiazepines for the management of dental anxiety: a web-based survey of UK dentists.British dental journal · 2023Article
- Persistent Orofacial Pain Attendances at General Medical Practitioners.Journal of dental research · 2023Observational
- Oral health ambassador scheme: training needs analysis in the community setting.British dental journal · 2022Article
- Encounters and management of oral conditions at general medical practices in Australia.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Article
- Dental Attendances to General Medical Practitioners in Wales: A 44 Year-Analysis.Journal of dental research · 2022Observational
- Good versus poor prescribers: the comparison of prescribing competencies in primary care.Primary health care research & development · 2022Article
- Urgent dental care use in the North East and Cumbria: predicting repeat attendance.British dental journal · 2022Article
- Antibiotic Use and Misuse in Dentistry in India-A Systematic Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- AAA: a rock and a hard place.British dental journal · 2021Article
- Inappropriate Dental Antibiotic Prescriptions: Potential Driver of the Antimicrobial Resistance in Albaha Region, Saudi Arabia.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2020Article
- A survey of the knowledge of junior doctors in managing oral conditions in adult inpatients.British dental journal · 2019Article
- Antibiotic Prescribing Quality in Out-of-Hours Primary Care and Critical Appraisal of Disease-Specific Quality Indicators.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe frequency of consulting for dental problems in general medical practice, and antibiotic prescribing associated with these consultations, is poorly described.
aimTo describe consultation rates and antibiotic use for dental problems in UK general medical practice, and explore factors associated with antibiotic prescribing for dental conditions. DESIGN AND
settingA retrospective cohort study using Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a database of general practice patient records in the UK.
methodAll dental consultations between 2004 and 2013 were identified. The main outcome was the prescription of an antibiotic during a dental consultation. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with antibiotic prescription.
resultsIn all, 288 169 dental consultations were included in the cohort. The average rate of dental consultations was 6.06 consultations per 1000 patient-years. Rates of dental consultation decreased from 6.84 consultations per 1000 patient-years in 2008, to 4.23 consultations per 1000 patient-years in 2013. Consultation rates were higher among females than males and highest in patients aged 20-29 years. An antibiotic was prescribed in 57.1% of consultations. Significant predictors (P<0.001) of antibiotic prescribing included: patient middle age, male sex, and previous consultations for tooth-related problems. Antibiotics were more likely to be prescribed during consultations in December (odds ratio [OR] 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13 to 1.24, P<0.001, reference month: June) and on a Monday (OR 1.10, 95% CI = 1.07 to 1.13, P<0.001) or a Friday (OR 1.15, 95% CI = 1.12 to 1.18, P<0.001, reference day: Wednesday).
conclusionConsultation rates for dental problems in UK general practice are relatively low but more than half result in the prescription of an antibiotic. This raises concerns about patient morbidity and contributions to antimicrobial resistance.
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