Dental students' compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines for dental infections in children.
BACKGROUND
To investigate the antibiotic prescribing training received by dental students, clinical experience in treating child patients, awareness of antibiotic prescribing guidelines, preparedness in antibiotic prescribing, and compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines for the management of dental infections in children.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study involving final year dentals students from Malaysian and Asian dental schools. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of five clinical case scenarios was e-mailed to all final year students at selected dental schools. Students' responses were compared for each clinical case scenario with the prescribing guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association. Compliance in each scenario was tested for association with their preparedness in antibiotic prescribing, previous training on antibiotic prescribing and awareness of antibiotic prescribing guidelines using Chi-square test. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS statistics version 20.


RESULTS
A total of 108 completed responses were received. About 74 (69%) students were from Malaysian dental schools. The compliance rate with prescribing guidelines ranged from 15.7% to 43.5%. Those attending Malaysian dental schools (47.3%) and those who had treated child patient more often (46.3%) were more likely (P < 0.05) to be aware of the guidelines. Those who had received antibiotic prescribing training (21.3%) were more likely to think they were well prepared in antibiotic prescribing (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Final year dental students had low awareness and compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines. Further research is needed to investigate how compliance with the guidelines may be enhanced.
School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yee Chen
YC
Wong
School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mandakini
M
Mohan
School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Allan
A
Pau
D000571:American Dental Association; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D004497:Education, Dental; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000592:standards; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014481:United States
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents