Improving the Quality of Dental Care through Antibiotic Stewardship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.66.73952Keywords
dental practice, antibiotic prescribingAbstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health threat, and inappropriate antibiotic use remains one of its most preventable drivers. Dentistry contributes a smaller share of antibiotic use than general medicine, but dental prescribing is important because many prescriptions are issued in outpatient, urgent-care or private-practice settings where formal stewardship infrastructure is often limited. This makes dental antibiotic stewardship a practical issue of care quality, not only a pharmacological or microbiological problem. This narrative review analyzes the main causes of inappropriate antibiotic use in dental practice, discusses the consequences for antimicrobial resistance and patient safety, and identifies interventions that may improve prescribing. The review particularly focuses on the tension between definitive dental treatment and the pressure to provide a rapid prescription during consultations for pain, swelling or suspected infection.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Wojciech Warmuz, Natalia Czołpińska, Łukasz Dylewicz, Zuzanna Kata, Jakub Andrzejewicz, Joanna Brzoza, Kinga Bylica, Jakub Rudzki, Ewa Wystalska, Kacper Solarz
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