Dentists' Awareness of Antibiotic Stewardship and Their Willingness to Support Its Implementation: A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Dental School

ObjectivesAntibiotic overuse is highly reported among dentists worldwide. An antibiotic stewardship programme has been shown to be effective for decreasing the number of unappropriated antibiotic prescriptions. The goal of this survey was to assess dentists' awareness of antibiotic stewardship and their willingness to implement changes accordingly.MethodsA structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to dentists at a university hospital with different levels of experience. It included questions regarding antibiotic prescription habits, antibiotic stewardship knowledge and willingness to implement changes in such a programme.ResultsOverall, 256 dentists participated in the survey. Among them, 16.4% (95% confidence interval: 12.1%-21.5%) reported awareness regarding antibiotic stewardship. Awareness levels were higher among specialists (28.3%) and increased with experience. Most dentists in this study reported willingness to improve their antibiotic prescribing practices. The mean willingness score was 8.78 (standard deviation: 1.81).ConclusionsAwareness of antibiotic stewardship was low among dentists with different levels of experience. However, dentists were willing to change their antibiotic prescription habits if policies were implemented as part of a stewardship programme at the school.