Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.

Aim or Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the reasons when general practitioners (GPs) prescribe antibiotics for dental conditions, and the reasons for patients with dental problems attending GPs, rather than seeking dental treatment. Materials and Methods: Participants wer...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Miss Angel Leong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:International Dental Journal
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020653923003209
_version_ 1797676348908503040
author Miss Angel Leong
author_facet Miss Angel Leong
author_sort Miss Angel Leong
collection DOAJ
description Aim or Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the reasons when general practitioners (GPs) prescribe antibiotics for dental conditions, and the reasons for patients with dental problems attending GPs, rather than seeking dental treatment. Materials and Methods: Participants were recruited through advertisement via Victorian primary care practice-based Research and Education Network. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 GPs from across Victoria to gather in-depth information on their experience around antibiotic use for dental conditions. The transcripts were analysed in Nvivo and mapped against the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: Dental pain was the most common reason for patients presenting to GPs, and most GPs would prescribe antibiotics and pain relief but advised the patient to seek dental care, acknowledging that their treatment was not definitive. GPs reported that most patients saw them due to barriers accessing dental care, such as long waiting lists on the public dental system as well as cost. In addition, patient expectations, self-management of toothache by patients with antibiotics, as well as dentists advising their patients to attend their GP for antibiotics prior to dental treatment, were all factors that influenced prescribing by GPs. Conclusions: These results provide the reasons for patients attending GPs for dental treatment, and are areas that can be addressed in future interventions to improve the use of antibiotics, including patient education, and barriers to dental care including access and cost.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T22:27:47Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5829e80cc26449ee8e23a4120889fab6
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0020-6539
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T22:27:47Z
publishDate 2023-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series International Dental Journal
spelling doaj.art-5829e80cc26449ee8e23a4120889fab62023-09-24T05:13:02ZengElsevierInternational Dental Journal0020-65392023-09-0173S8Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.Miss Angel Leong0The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Corresponding author.Aim or Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the reasons when general practitioners (GPs) prescribe antibiotics for dental conditions, and the reasons for patients with dental problems attending GPs, rather than seeking dental treatment. Materials and Methods: Participants were recruited through advertisement via Victorian primary care practice-based Research and Education Network. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 GPs from across Victoria to gather in-depth information on their experience around antibiotic use for dental conditions. The transcripts were analysed in Nvivo and mapped against the Theoretical Domains Framework. Results: Dental pain was the most common reason for patients presenting to GPs, and most GPs would prescribe antibiotics and pain relief but advised the patient to seek dental care, acknowledging that their treatment was not definitive. GPs reported that most patients saw them due to barriers accessing dental care, such as long waiting lists on the public dental system as well as cost. In addition, patient expectations, self-management of toothache by patients with antibiotics, as well as dentists advising their patients to attend their GP for antibiotics prior to dental treatment, were all factors that influenced prescribing by GPs. Conclusions: These results provide the reasons for patients attending GPs for dental treatment, and are areas that can be addressed in future interventions to improve the use of antibiotics, including patient education, and barriers to dental care including access and cost.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020653923003209
spellingShingle Miss Angel Leong
Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
International Dental Journal
title Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
title_full Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
title_fullStr Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
title_full_unstemmed Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
title_short Antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in Victorian general practice.
title_sort antibiotic prescribing for dental presentations in victorian general practice
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020653923003209
work_keys_str_mv AT missangelleong antibioticprescribingfordentalpresentationsinvictoriangeneralpractice