Trends in the use of antibiotics in dental practice survey among 17 private dental colleges and university hospitals in Japan

Abstract

In an effort to survey antibiotic preparations actually used in dental practice, a multi-institutional study was made of the consumption and share of antibiotics as classified by chemical structure and dosage form. The study involved 17 private dental colleges or university hospitals in Japan, and consisted of two parts : one, investigation of the share of antibiotic preparations used in a period of 10 days from 6th June through 15th June, 1983, and the other, categorization of antibiotics used over a 9-month period from April through December 1983.
Antibiotic drugs accounted for 23.4% of all oral preparations, and ranked second just behind anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs which accounted for 27.8%. The order of share in descending frequency was : cephem series including Cephalexin and Cephachlor ; penicillin series such as Amoxycillin, Talampicillin, and Bacampicillin ; and macrolide antibiotics such as Josamycin. Injectable antibiotic preparations were used in as many as 81% of patients who were given injectable forms. The breakdown is as follows : cephem series, 73%; penicillin series, 20%; and others comprising aminoglycosides, lincomycins and tetracyclines, only 7%.
Cephem and penicillin preparations were found to constitute the most commonly used antibiotics in dental practice, with this trend sharing all dental colleges and university hospitals in Japan.