title: Knowledge regarding prescription of drugs among dental students: A descriptive study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The act of indicating one or more drugs to be taken by the patient, its dosage, and the interval of the treatment is known as prescribing. It is a dynamic and individualized clinical process. Cultural, social, economic and promotional factors can influence the pattern of prescription. Thus the present study was conducted to evaluate the drug prescription knowledge in third year and final year dental students at Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire consisting of 10 open-ended questions was used in a study which was conducted among 170 male and female, third year and final year dental students of Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre. Tables and graphs were used to represent data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pain was found to be the most important reason for prescribing medication. Diclofenac was found to be the most commonly prescribed NSAID. While amoxicillin was found to be the most widely prescribed antibiotic. Lack of knowledge about drug posology was the basic reason for error done by students. Maximum number of students gets their information for prescribing drugs from their professors. Maximum number of students was unacquainted about the WHO Guide to Good Prescribing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The knowledge of prescribing drugs is of utmost need for good dental practice and hence, it is essential to expand the knowledge related to pharmacological therapy and to know about the proper therapeutic guidelines. With the help of WHO Guide to Good Prescribing, and some educational programs students will develop better prescribing skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Ankita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: General Secretary, International Society for Holistic Dentistry, Haldwani, Uttarakhand, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Institute of Dental Science, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Devanand
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Deepika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Teerthanker Mahaveer Dental College and Research Centre, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Yogesh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, Rama Dental College and Hospital, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Antima
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontic, Crown and Bridge and Implantology, Daswani Dental College and Research Centre, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Himani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chaudhary
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Daswani Dental College and Research Centre, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Alpana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Principal, Government Degree College, Banbasa, Uttrakhand, India.
authors.forename: Rajendra Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Gupta
keywords: Dental students; drug; knowledge; prescription