Drug Abuse in Paediatric Dentistry: a Cross-Sectional Study

Compared to adult medicine, drug use in children is not extensively researched. Objective: The objective of present study is to find out drug prescribing pattern in the Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry and Orthodontics in teaching hospitals in Rajasthan, India. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in June 2011. A total of 619 prescriptions were collected randomly. Prescribing pattern was analyzed using WHO basic drug indicator. Results: The average number of drugs and antimicrobial agent prescribed per prescription were 2.24 and 0.81 respectively. Antimicrobial agent contained 81.74% of all prescriptions. Most common groups of drugs prescribed by pedodontist were NSAIDS & Antipyretics (37.7%), Antimicrobial (36.4%) and Vitamins (12.3%). Prophylactic use of antimicrobial agents was 5.5 +/- 0.5 days. Fixed dose combination (45.6%) frequently used by brand name. Twelve percent generic drugs were used. Most of the drugs were from Essential Drug List especially a only one drug was prescribed. Conclusion: There is a need of mass awareness amongst dentists about good prescribing habit. Every institution must have Drugs and Therapeutic Committees. The five steps of WHO Program on Rational Use of Drugs (RUD) should be followed for rational prescribing of drugs.