Effective anaesthesia of the acutely inflamed pulp: part 2. Clinical strategies

Comparison of the Views of the General Dental Practitioners and Dental Interns in Asir, Saudi Arabia on Antibiotic Prescription for Endodontic Therapy: A Cross-Sectional Study

AIM

To assess the views of the dental interns (DIs) and general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia on antibiotic prescription for endodontic therapy.

METHODS

The link to a cross-sectional online survey with 16 quantitative and qualitative questions was e-mailed to 60 DIs at the College of Dentistry of King Khalid University (group 1 [G1]) and 60 GDPs at the governmental primary healthcare centers in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia (group 2 [G2]). The data obtained from the survey were then subjected to a comparative statistical analysis. The inter-group statistical comparison of the distribution of categorical variables was tested using the chi square test or the Fisher's exact probability test if more than 20% of the cells had an expected frequency of less than 5. The p-values > 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The data were statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22.0, IBM Corporation, USA) for MS Windows.

RESULTS

The response rate was 83.3% for G1 and 63.33% for G2. Of the participants in G2, 39.5% had 1-5 years' clinical experience (the participants in G1 had no clinical experience). The number of endodontic emergency patients seen per day was significantly higher in G1 (88% and 63.2% of the participants in G1 and G2, respectively, were seeing 0-3 endodontic emergency patients per day). There was an insignificant difference between G1 and G2 in awareness of the existence of antibiotic prescription guidelines in endodontic therapy (57.9% and 56.0%, respectively; p > 0.05). There was also an insignificant difference between the groups in the rate of antibiotic prescription for endodontic problems, with 84% of the G1 participants and 86.8% of the G2 participants prescribing antibiotics only for limited patients. In the analysis of the clinical-vignette items (Q11-16), it was found that the rate of antibiotic prescription did not significantly differ between G1 and G2 (p > 0.05). No significant difference was found in the rate of antibiotic prescription for symptomatic reversible pulpitis, symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, and chronic apical periodontitis cases (p > 0.05). In contrast, the rate of antibiotic prescription for the symptomatic apical periodontitis, acute apical abscess, and systemic complications cases differed significantly (8% for G1 and 18.4% for G2, 54% for G1 and 76.3% for G2, and 98% for G1 and 73.7% for G2, respectively).

CONCLUSION

No significant difference in the rate of antibiotic prescription was found between the DIs and GDPs in this study. However, both groups showed an inappropriate rate of antibiotic prescription for some endodontic conditions. Further and more extensive studies involving a wider geographical region and different colleges of dentistry in Saudi Arabia are recommended.

Interventions for anesthetic success in symptomatic irreversible pulpitis: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background

Local anesthetics alone or in combination with adjuncts, such as oral medications, have routinely been used for pain control during endodontic treatment. The best clinical choice amongst the vast numbers of agents and techniques available for pain control for irreversible pulpitis is unclear. This network meta-analysis combined the available evidence on agents and techniques for pulpal anesthesia in the maxilla and mandible, in order to identify the best amongst these approaches statistically, as a basis for future clinical trials.

Methods

Randomized trials in MEDLINE, DARE, and COCHRANE databases were screened based on inclusion criteria and data were extracted. Heterogeneity was assessed and odds ratios were used to estimate effects. Inconsistencies between direct and indirect pooled estimates were evaluated by H-statistics. The Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation working group approach was used to assess evidence quality.

Results

Sixty-two studies (nine studies in the maxilla and 53 studies in the mandible) were included in the meta-analysis. Increased mandibular pulpal anesthesia success was observed on premedication with aceclofenac + paracetamol or supplemental 4% articaine buccal infiltration or ibuprofen+paracetamol premedication, all the above mentioned with 2% lignocaine inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). No significant difference was noted for any of the agents investigated in terms of the success rate of maxillary pulpal anesthesia.

Conclusion

Direct and indirect comparisons indicated that some combinations of IANB with premedication and/or supplemental infiltration had a greater chance of producing successful mandibular pulpal anesthesia. No ideal technique for maxillary anesthesia emerged. Randomized clinical trials with increased sample size may be needed to provide more conclusive data. Our findings suggest that further high-quality studies are required in order to provide definitive direction to clinicians regarding the best agents and techniques to use for mandibular and maxillary anesthesia for irreversible pulpitis.

Antibiotic prescribing for endodontic therapies: a comparative survey between general dental practitioners and final year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students in Cardiff, UK

AIM

To evaluate the views of final year dental surgery students (BDS; G1) at Cardiff University and general dental practitioners (GDPs; G2) within the geographic area of Cardiff, Wales, on antibiotic prescribing for endodontic conditions, and investigate the potential differences between the two groups.

METHODS

A cross-sectional online questionnaire-based survey of 12 qualitative and quantitative questions was distributed to 76 final year BDS Cardiff University students and 55 dental practices within Cardiff, UK. Six questions recorded general information, and the remaining questions included a series of hypothetical clinical scenarios, where the participants were asked to state whether they would or would not prescribe antibiotics. The data were analysed using spss version 23 to produce descriptive statistics, contingency tables and to run chi-square (χ²) tests, Fisher's exact tests and relative risk calculations.

RESULTS

The response rate was 60% (n = 79). All G1 participants were aware of the consequences of antibiotic overuse. Approximately 60% of responders were aware of guidelines for antibiotic use in endodontic therapies, and 83% would only use antibiotics for a limited selection of patients (e.g. patients with systemic complications). G1 responses to clinical scenarios indicated overall that they were comparable to the ideal answers except for acute apical abscess (64% believed that antibiotics were indicated). The majority of G2 were aware of the consequences of antibiotic overuse. Only 28% of G2 were aware of guidelines for antibiotic use in endodontic therapies. Overall responses revealed that antibiotics would be prescribed for: systemic complications (78%), acute apical abscess (72%) and symptomatic apical periodontitis (28%). The clinical scenarios revealed G1 were more likely to prescribe antibiotics compared to G2 for cases of necrotic pulp with symptomatic apical periodontitis without systemic complications (incorrect answer) and less likely to other clinical scenarios such as necrotic pulp and asymptomatic apical periodontitis for patients with a history of rheumatic fever (ideal answers), symptomatic irreversible/reversible pulpitis, failure to achieve anaesthesia, chronic apical abscess for patients with diabetes. The recognition of antibiotic prescription for cases with signs of spreading infection was more evident in G2.

CONCLUSION

Final year undergraduate students were aware of the antibiotic resistance crisis, although a third was not aware of guidelines for use of antibiotics in endodontic conditions; their responses to clinical scenario were generally compatible with the guidelines. General dentists were less aware of the implications of overuse of antibiotics and the existence of guidelines, and their responses were occasionally incompatible with antibiotic guidelines for endodontic therapies.