Antibiotic prescribing in UK dental practices had been slowly declining in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, but lockdown-related changes in care delivery led to increased levels of prescribing, a team based at the UK Health Security Agency reported today in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance.
For the study, researchers examined National Health Service databases, comparing the level of antibiotic prescribing in dental practices in the prepandemic years, January 2016 through February 2020, with prescribing levels during Britain's first lockdown, which occurred from March to May 2020. They also tracked antibiotic prescribing in the months following the lockdown. The databases allowed the investigators to examine treatment plans for both face-to-face and remote dental appointments.
For the prepandemic period, the study authors saw a decreasing trend of -0.02 per 1,000 population per month (P < 0.05). In March 2020, however, antibiotic dispensing increased of 0.98 per 1,000 population. Antibiotic prescriptions peaked in June and July 2020 (1.44 per 1,000 population) when restrictions were scaled back.
The team found that by the end of the study period, July 2021, antibiotic dispensing was declining again but had still not returned to prepandemic levels. Dental treatment plans, which had declined sharply during the lockdown period, had also not yet returned to prepandemic levels.
The researchers noted that, unlike the dentistry findings, declines in antibiotic prescribing in UK primary care practices continued, despite the pandemic strains. They noted that the reasons for the increased prescribing in dental settings are probably multifactorial, adding that swelling and pain were the most common primary reasons for antibiotic dispensing and that dentists may have felt less confident diagnosing and treating acute pain remotely.