The Attitude and Pattern of Antibiotics prescription among Yemeni Dentists and their relation with the Emergence of Bacterial Resistance

Abstract Background: misuse of antibiotics among prescribers may accompany the increase in the emergence of bacterial resistance. Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the attitude and pattern of antibiotics prescription regarding the type, duration of antibiotics based on evidence-practice guidelines. Besides that, to assess the attitude of dentists toward antibiotic resistance. Methods: A cross-sectional structured and validated questionnaire addressing demographic, educational, and professional data. It also measured their attitude regarding antibiotics prescription, prophylaxis, and their uses in special populations. Analyses used descriptive statistics, and bivariate analysis to observe predictors of higher knowledge. Results: The reported average of antibiotics prescriptions per week was 11.67 in the present study, which agrees with the study conducted in Lebanon but higher than the outcomes of other studies, especially in developed countries. There are no significant changes regards the gender of prescribers. Amoxicillin was the most popular antibiotic prescribed by dentists in the present work (36%). The prime determinant to select antibiotics is the availability of commercial items (40%). There is a misconception and low knowledge among participants about the duration and alternatives of the antibiotic used in pregnancy. Most dentists are aware of antibiotic resistance (85%). Conclusion: the outcomes of the present study showed that there is an over-prescription of antibiotics among Yemeni dentists compared with other countries. This may correlate with the emergence of resistance and difficulty to treat just simple dental infections.