Knowledge and attitudes of recently qualified dentists working in Wales towards antimicrobial prescribing and resistance

Aims To discover newly qualified dentists’ confidence towards prescribing antimicrobials and explore their attitudes concerning the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Materials and Methods This was a cross‐sectional study; questionnaires exploring attitudes towards issues related to antimicrobial use and resistance were distributed to dentists undergoing Dental Foundation (DF), Dental Core (DC) or Longitudinal Dental Foundation Training in Wales. Results A total of 71 of 90 questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 78.9%. Most respondents (90.0%) agreed that antimicrobial resistance poses a serious threat to public health in the UK and 78.9% reported that they considered the impact of dental prescribing to the emergence of resistance to be moderate or greater. The greatest influences on prescribing behaviour were the use of guidelines and teaching received as an undergraduate. Although the majority of participants agreed that they had sufficient training in antimicrobial prescribing, some were not confident when issuing a prescription or undertaking operative treatment for patients with acute dental conditions. Many reported that their prescribing behaviours were influenced by additional pressures, such as if operative treatment had to be delayed. The majority (77.5%) agreed that changes should be implemented to optimise dentists’ antimicrobial prescribing practices, such as increasing the availability of clinical guidelines or further teaching at undergraduate level. Discussion and Conclusions Undergraduate dental curricula should include specific competencies relating to antimicrobial use and factors contributing to the development of antimicrobial resistance.