Dentistry Students for Antimicrobial Stewardship Society

05/21/2022

COVID has had a large impact on every aspect of our lives but how about in shaping antibiotic resistance? In this article written by Molly Sargen, the effects of the pandemic on antibiotic resistance is explored. There has been an increase in antibiotic usage, with an increase in the emergence of resistant strains.


But there are also positive impacts of the pandemic on antibiotic resistance. Since our general hygiene has improved, there will be a reduction in the amount of infection and potential spread of diseases. In addition, the increased uptake of vaccines means diseases that require antibiotics such as whooping cough can be prevented with vaccine uptake. Read more about the impact of the pandemic on antibiotic resistance here: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2021/how-covid-19-is-shaping-antibiotic-resistance/

05/12/2022

As we all know, the profession of dentistry is one of the biggest culprits for fostering antibiotic resistance, due to the large volume of antibiotic prescriptions that are written. As a result of antibiotic resistance in general, the scientific community has been exploring possible alternatives in recent years.
The attached paper is a brief one-page summary of current research directives regarding antibiotic alternatives. Current research areas involve methods that stimulate the host’s own defense mechanisms, enzyme-based therapeutics, and those which use potentiators or antivirulence factors.

04/25/2022

Why should dentists care about antimicrobial Stewardship?

Did you know that dentists rank in the top 5 prescribers for antibiotics? Rates of dentistry-related antibiotic use are also stable despite the changes made to guidelines around the prescription of antibiotics for infective endocarditis and prosthetic joints in 2007 and 2013. What’s even more concerning is that following more conservative antibiotic prescribing guidelines, Suda and colleagues reported that 80.9% of antibiotics prescribed for these conditions were still unnecessary.

To put this into perspective, there is a 30% over prescription of antibiotics in a medical outpatient setting, dentistry overshadows this by 50.9% - highlighting the need for more antimicrobial stewardship in our profession.

Read the full study conducted by Suda and colleagues here:

This cohort study assesses the appropriateness of antibiotic prophylaxis prescriptions for infection prophylaxis before dental procedures using Truven, a US national integrated health claims database.