ArticleBritish dental journal2020
How did COVID-19 impact on dental antibiotic prescribing across England?
Article in British dental journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Outcomes to evaluate care for adults with acute dental pain and infection: a systematic narrative review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- The Role of Dentists and Members of the Dental Team During Infectious Diseases Outbreaks: Adopted by the FDI General Assembly: 27-29 September 2021, Sydney, Australia.International dental journal · 2022Guideline
- De-Implementing Low-Value Care in Dentistry: The Case for Choosing Wisely Campaigns.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2026Article
- Ten-year trends in antimicrobial and analgesic prescribing by NHS dentists in England: a retrospective analysis study.British dental journal · 2026Article
- Operative stewardship: reclaiming the role of surgical source control in dental antimicrobial stewardship.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on dental practice at the University Clinical Dentistry Center of Kosovo.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Prescriptions at the University Clinical Dentistry Center of Kosovo.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The crippling grip of antimicrobial resistance in dentistry: A review.Bioinformation · 2025Article
- Antibiotic Prescribing Trends in Dentistry during Ten Years' Period-Croatian National Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Mapping Worldwide Antibiotic Use in Dental Practices: A Scoping Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pattern of Antibiotic and Opioid Prescriptions by Dentists in Alberta, Canada.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2024Article
- Antibiotic prescribing patterns among dentists in Italy and Albania: A comparative questionnaire analysis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- The impact of COVID-19 national restrictions on dental antibiotic dispensing trends and treatment activity in England: January 2016 to July 2021.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
- Changes in Medication Prescribing Due to COVID-19 in Dental Practice in Croatia-National Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Assessment of the Prescriptions of Systemic Antibiotics in Primary Dental Care in Germany from 2017 to 2021: A Longitudinal Drug Utilization Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Changes in Antibiotic Prescribing Patterns in Danish General Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Register-Based Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Moving the needle on dental antibiotic overuse in Canada post COVID-19.Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada · 2022Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on individual oral health: a scoping review.BMC oral health · 2022Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Prescribing by Dentists in Galicia, Spain: A Quasi-Experimental Approach.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial prescribing at a specialist paediatric hospital: an observational study.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction Antibiotic resistance is a global problem driven by unnecessary antibiotic use. Between 25 March-8 June 2020, COVID-19 restrictions severely reduced access to dentistry in England. Dental practices were instructed to manage patients remotely with advice, analgesics and antibiotics, where appropriate.Aim To describe the impact of the policy to restrict dental access on antibiotic prescribing.Methods NHS Business Services Authority 2018-2020 data for England were analysed to describe national and regional trends in dental antibiotic use.Results Antibiotic prescribing in April to July 2020 was 25% higher than April to July 2019, with a peak in June 2020. Some regions experienced greater increases and for longer periods than others. The increase was highest in London (60%) and lowest in the South West (10%). East of England had the highest rate of dental antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 of the population every month over the study period (April to July 2020).Conclusion Restricted access to dental care due to COVID-19 resulted in greatly increased dental antibiotic prescribing, against an otherwise downward trend. As dental care adapts to the COVID-19 era, it is important to ensure access for all to high-quality urgent dental care. Understanding the reasons for variation will help to optimise the use of antibiotics in the future.
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