Antibiotic prescribing patterns among dentists in Italy and Albania: A comparative questionnaire analysis.

To investigate the therapeutic and prophylactic use of antibiotics in dentistry in two countries This study used questionnaires to examine the prescribing habits of dentists in Italy (9th country in Europe for systemic antibiotic administration) and Albania an Extra European Union Country. A total of 1300 questionnaires were sent to Italian and Albanian dentists. In total, 180 Italian and 180 Albanian dentists completed the questionnaire. Penicillin use was higher in Italy (96.6 %) than Albania (82.8 %). Only 26.1 % of Italian dentists and 32 % of Albanian dentists followed the national guidelines for antibiotic administration. Dentists tend to overprescribe antibiotics for treating existing conditions or as prophylaxis. They also highlighted a lack of adherence to established guidelines for antibiotic use. In addition, factors such as age, nationality, and sex appeared to influence the choice of antibiotics. Recently, the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has become a global concern. The authors of this article highlight how dentists often prescribe antibiotics without a real need. Limiting the use of antibiotics in this category may help mitigate antibiotic resistance.

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Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Bruna Sinjari reports financial support was provided by European Union-NextGeneration EU. Bruna Sinjari reports a relationship with European Union-NextGeneration EU that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.