Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33818323›Full record

ArticleInfection control and hospital epidemiology2022

Patterns of dental antibiotic prescribing in 2017: Australia, England, United States, and British Columbia (Canada).

Wendy Thompson, Leanne Teoh, Colin C Hubbard, Fawziah Marra, David M Patrick, Abdullah Mamun, Allen Campbell, Katie J Suda

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. A Systematic Review of Dental Antibiotic Stewardship Interventions.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2025
    Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Article
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  7. Management of acute dental pain in adults.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026
    Article
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  9. Article
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  11. 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 · 2025
    Article
  12. Global, regional, and national burdens ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Wendy ThompsonDivision of Dentistry, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-6799-4087
Leanne TeohMelbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
Colin C HubbardDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Fawziah MarraFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
David M PatrickSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abdullah MamunBritish Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Allen CampbellIQVIA, Durham, North Carolina, United States.
Katie J SudaCenter for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Funding

Dental prescribing of antibiotics and opioids: high use in the absence of evidenceR01HS025177 · AHRQ · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI SUDA, KJ · 2017 to 2020
$1.4M
AHRQ HHS R01 HS025177
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveOur objective was to compare patterns of dental antibiotic prescribing in Australia, England, and North America (United States and British Columbia, Canada).

designPopulation-level analysis of antibiotic prescription.

settingOutpatient prescribing by dentists in 2017.

participantsPatients receiving an antibiotic dispensed by an outpatient pharmacy.

methodsPrescription-based rates adjusted by population were compared overall and by antibiotic class. Contingency tables assessed differences in the proportion of antibiotic class by country.

resultsIn 2017, dentists in the United States had the highest antibiotic prescribing rate per 1,000 population and Australia had the lowest rate. The penicillin class, particularly amoxicillin, was the most frequently prescribed for all countries. The second most common agents prescribed were clindamycin in the United States and British Columbia (Canada) and metronidazole in Australia and England. Broad-spectrum agents, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and azithromycin were the highest in Australia and the United States, respectively.

conclusionExtreme differences exist in antibiotics prescribed by dentists in Australia, England, the United States, and British Columbia. The United States had twice the antibiotic prescription rate of Australia and the most frequently prescribed antibiotic in the US was clindamycin. Significant opportunities exist for the global dental community to update their prescribing behavior relating to second-line agents for penicillin allergic patients and to contribute to international efforts addressing antibiotic resistance. Patient safety improvements will result from optimizing dental antibiotic prescribing, especially for antibiotics associated with resistance (broad-spectrum agents) or C. difficile (clindamycin). Dental antibiotic stewardship programs are urgently needed worldwide.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsClostridioides difficileAmoxicillinAustraliaBritish ColumbiaHumansUnited StatesAmoxicillinAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID33818323
PMCPMC9044466

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.