Assessment of Dental Professional Attitudes Regarding Antimicrobial Usage and Resistance Awareness

Abstract

This study aimed to assess dentists’ attitudes towards, and awareness of, antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial resistance, in order to promote rational usage of antimicrobials in the future. This was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The questionnaire contained closed-ended and open-ended questions, which covered antimicrobial resistance, and was distributed to dentists in Mahidol Dental Hospital. The data were collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed. Content analysis was applied for open-ended questions. The results were categorized in terms of answer frequency, which allowed assessment of a subject’s comprehension of the theme of the study. The majority of the participants were aged 25-30 years old (78.9%) with 0-5 years work experience (69.2%). Most participants in the present survey were oral and maxillofacial surgery specialists (88.9%) and the data of different participants’ attitudes towards antimicrobial resistance and recommendations for solutions to combat this growing problem were presented. Our study provides an important insight in to the attitudes towards and awareness of antimicrobial resistance among dentists in the dental hospital. The majority of the participants viewed antimicrobial resistance as a preventable public problem, if appropriate strategies were to be designed. Nonetheless, most of them held some misconceptions regarding antimicrobial resistance, and their knowledge and attitudes significantly varied across their field of study. Thus, improving knowledge, consequences and strategies to control antimicrobial resistance might be an approach to better dentists’ attitudes and to rationalize their use of antimicrobials in the hospital.