Grant: Project Grant

Antibiotics are essential drugs for treating and curing bacterial infections in people and animals. They relieve the suffering of millions of people each year, as well as saving lives that would otherwise succumb to infection. Yet, our ability to fight infection through antibiotic use is weakened by over prescription and overuse of this family of drugs. This is because the germs they aim to treat and kill are constantly adapting to the environment and to the drugs prescribed. As a result, increased antibiotic use leads to increased antibiotic resistance in individuals and society. Even though the problem is global in scope, it can be addressed at local and community levels. Given that dentists are responsible for about 10% of human antibiotic prescriptions, research focussing on dental education on antibiotics and clinical training on antibiotic prescription is an important piece of the puzzle of how to curtail the spread of the types of bacteria that grow to resist antibiotic drugs. In order to better teach dental students about the use and abuse of antibiotics, and to help them treat their patients with antibiotics when necessary while avoiding over prescription, we must learn what the challenges to teaching and learning are on this critical issue, as well as what is needed for change to occur in clinical practice. For instance, dental students must learn both why and when to prescribe antibiotics, but also how to justify their decision to patients. We therefore aim to investigate what dental students at Quebec's three dental schools understand and what they require to engage in efficient, responsible dental prescription practices. We will survey and interview dental students, in addition to interviewing instructors and faculty administrators to learn what approaches and solutions they use or envision. In the end, we expect our study to contribute to curriculum modifications that lead to better antibiotic prescription practices among dentists.