Comparison of the Views of the General Dental Practitioners and Dental Interns in Asir, Saudi Arabia on Antibiotic Prescription for Endodontic Therapy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 General Summary of the Answers of the Dental Interns and General Dental Practitioners in This Study to Questions 1–9

	Questions	G1 (Dental Interns) N = 50	G2 (General Dental Practitioners) N = 38	P-value
Q1	Qualified dental school participants from
	College of Dentistry, King Khalid University	50 (100%)	38 (100%)
Q2	Occupation	50 (57%)	38 (43%)
Q3	Years of clinical experience			< 0.001
	Less than 1 year	0	10 (26%)
	1–5 years	0	12 (31.6%)
	5–10 years	0	15 (39.5%)
	More than 10 years	0	1 (2.6%)
Q4	Number of endodontic emergency patients per day			< 0.05
	0–3	44 (88%)	24 (63.2%)
	3–6	4 (8%)	13 (34.2%)
	6–9	1 (2%)	1 (2.6%)
	9–12	1 (2%)	0
Q5	How frequently they prescribe antibiotics for endodontic problems			> 0.05
	To a limited number of patients	42 (84%)	33 (86.8%)
	To most patients	6 (12%)	3 (7.9%)
	To all patients	0	1 (2.6%)
	Never	2 (4%)	1 (2.6%)
Q6	Which endodontic condition requires antibiotic use
	Symptomatic reversible pulpitis	1 (2%)	5 (13.2%)	> 0.05
	Symptomatic irreversible pulpitis	4 (8%)	2 (5.3%)	> 0.05
	Symptomatic apical periodontitis	2 (4%)	7 (18.4%)	< 0.05
	Chronic apical periodontitis	5 (10%)	9 (23.7%)	> 0.05
	Acute apical abscess	27 (54%)	29 (76.3%)	< 0.05
	Systemic complications	49 (98%)	28 (73.7%)	< 0.05
Q7	Aware of existence of antibiotic prescription guidelines for endodontic conditions	28 (56%)	22 (57.9%)	> 0.05
Q8	Have read available antibiotic prescription guidelines for endodontic conditions	22 (44%)	22 (57.9%)	> 0.05
Q9	Aware of antibiotic overuse consequences	40 (80%)	27 (71.1%)	> 0.05

Figure 1 Responses of the G1 (group 1) participants (dental interns, n = 50) to the questions on antibiotic indications for treating different endodontic clinical cases (Q11–16 [questions 11–16]). The percentages are indicated by the bars’ size on the chart for the scale shown on the y-axis whereas the labels indicate the number of subjects. Correct answer for Q11–16: Antibiotic is not indicated in all the cases except for Q16 (p > 0.05, which is considered statistically insignificant for Q11–16).

Figure 2 Responses of the G2 (group 2) participants (general dental practitioners, n = 38) to the questions on antibiotic indications for treating different endodontic clinical cases (Q11–16 [questions 11–16]). The percentages are indicated by the bars’ size on the chart for the scale shown on the y-axis whereas the labels indicate the number of subjects. Correct answer for Q11–16: Antibiotic is not indicated in all the cases except for Q16 (p > 0.05, which is considered statistically insignificant for Q11–16).