Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice among dental students toward antibiotic usage and development of antimicrobial resistance - A cross-sectional study

Aims and Objective: This study was designed to assess of knowledge, attitude, and practice among dental student toward antibiotic usage and development of antimicrobial resistance. Material and Methods: Study comprises 120 subjects. The data were obtained using a self-administrated questionnaire comprising 21 multiple choice questions (Q1-Q21) based on Likert scale (3 point) that includes questions on knowledge, attitude, and practice toward antibiotics usage and development of antimicrobial resistance. Pearson correlation was used for statistical analysis. Results: A majority of participants 81.7% were aware of antibiotic resistance. A high percentage of this study participant were prescribing antibiotics for conditions such as periodontal abscess drainage (81.7%), after RCT (32.5%), after scaling and root planning (27.5%), uneventful tooth extraction (30.8%), and only (40%) prescribe antibiotics to treat diabetic patients for dental procedures. Conclusion: This study concludes that dental students may prescribe antibiotics inappropriately to manage various conditions when not indicated. This may indicate a defect in education of students with regard to current antibiotic guidelines.