Attitudes towards Antibiotic Prescription and Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness among Italian Dentists: What Are the Milestones?

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing phenomenon, often associated with the improper prescription of antibiotics, prescribed by those who do not follow the guidelines for antibiotic stewardship. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current attitude towards antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance awareness among Italian dentists. An online questionnaire was distributed to Italian dentists from September to December 2021. The questionnaire was composed of three main sections. The first part was focused on demographic characteristics, the second part on prescription habits, and the third part on the dentists' knowledge regarding the phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance. A chi-square test was used to find associations between different variables. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. A total of 382 dentists completed the questionnaire. The main reasons for antibiotic prescribing were for abscesses (39.6%), extractions (24.5%), and pulpitis (14.1%). The majority of participants (85.3%) reported prescribing macrolides in the case of a penicillin allergy. Most dentists (98.9%) were aware of the antimicrobial resistance phenomenon, but only 7.4% of them consulted the guidelines for prescribing antibiotics. This study demonstrates that the same trend exists in Italy as in other countries in terms of the high prevalence of misuse and overuse of antibiotics, and that Italian dentists utilize a range of antibiotic management strategies.