Prescription of Antibiotics and Its Overuse among Pediatric Dental Patients: A Systematic Review Download PDF

Dentists prescribe antibiotics from several classes to treat various oral infections and conditions. Infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as physical discomfort, fall under this category. Antibiotics are still the most given medication for kids. Antibacterial medications account for an estimated 66.4% of all dental prescriptions in England. A systematic literature review from 2012 to 2022 was performed using PubMed, Medline, and ScienceDirect databases. The keywords used were "antibiotics," "overuse," and "pediatric patients." In addition, the PRISMA flowchart was used to describe the selection process of searched articles. The Cochrane risk of bias assessment method was used to assess the studies' quality A total of eight studies were found eligible to be included in this study, out of which the majority of studies revealed that pediatric dentists prescribe antibiotics to their patients. There is a need to educate pediatric dentists to avoid prescribing antibiotics in cases where it is not required urgently.