An audit of drug prescribing practices of dentists.

OBJECTIVES

Data are scarce on the prescribing habits of dental practitioners. Drug use in dentistry and stomatology is undertaken to determine the pattern of drug use for patients seeking treatment.

METHODS

1820 prescriptions of dental patients attending the dental outpatient departments at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Nepal were collected by a random once weekly survey between March '01 to February '02. The information was compiled, scored and analyzed in consultation with dentists using WHO guidelines.

RESULTS

Males numbered 801 (44%) and females 1019 (56%). Most of the patients were aged between 13-25 years. The dental disorders most frequently reported in our study were diseases of pulp and periapical tissue (36.5%), gingivitis and periodontal disease (28.5%), and dental caries (16%). The average number of drugs prescribed was 2.03 (3698 / 1820) and 66% prescriptions contained antimicrobials (1 or 2). 21% drugs were prescribed in generic names and 38% drugs were fixed dose combinations of 2 or more drugs. 4/5 of the prescribed drugs were systemic agents and 1/5 were local/topical agents. The most commonly prescribed systemic agents were analgesics (43.7%) followed by antimicrobials (39%). The most conmonly prescribed local / topical agents were anti-infectives (74%). In the present study, NSAID's (89.6%) were the preferred analgesics over narcotic analgesics (10.4%). The most frequently prescribed systemic analgesic and antimicrobials were ibuprofen and amoxycillin, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study may help in identifying the problems involved in therapeutic decision making. Also, there is a clear need for the development of prescribing guidelines and educational initiatives to encourage the rational and appropriate use of drugs in dentistry.