Antibiotics for dental procedures up infection risk 

If your are planning to visit a dentist, think twice. According to a study, antibiotics prescribed by dentists may contribute to the growing problem of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) — a serious and potentially deadly infection that causes severe diarrhoea.

Read also: Precautions to avoid dental issues

According to study:

• Dentists write more than 24.5 million prescriptions for antibiotics a year.
• And many of those antibiotics are likely unnecessary, the researchers said.
• In addition,Antibiotics kill bad and good bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) system.
• Furthermore,wiping out the protective bacteria can allow the growth of C. diff bacteria.
• One of the top three most urgent antibiotic-resistant threats identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• “Dentists have been overlooked as a source of antibiotic prescribing, which can potentially delay treatment when doctors are trying to determine what is causing a patient’s illness”.

Experiment:

• In the study the team interviewed 1,626 people with community-associated C. diff between 2009 and 2015.
• Of those, 926 (57 per cent) reported they had been prescribed antibiotics, 136 (15 per cent) of those for dental procedures.
• In addition,the study found patients who were prescribed antibiotics for dental procedures tended to be older.
• And more likely to receive clindamycin — an antibiotic that is associated with C. diff infection.

  Of those who had received antibiotics for a dental procedure, 34 per cent had no mention of antibiotics in their medical charts, illustrating the disconnect between dental and medical care.