Drug prescription rates in dental health services / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the misuse and abuse of antibiotics in relation to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of patients given prescriptions by dental providers. METHODS: We examined data collected in 2011 by the Korea Health Panel from 3,836 dental visits. The data included multiple visits per individual for 3,738 household members of 2,588 households using outpatient dental services. The data were analyzed by dental service provider type, using four types of beta-regression. Model analysis and comparison were performed using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) to select the best model. RESULTS: Prescription rates according to type of dental service provider are as follows 18% by dental hospitals and 19%-20% by dental clinics. The patient factors contributing to the prescription rate are gender, age, education, and income level. Higher antibiotics exposure was found in patients who were male, older, with less education, and lower incomes. Patient exposure to antibiotics did not significantly differ between dental hospitals and dental clinics. CONCLUSIONS: When prescribing antibiotics in dental practices, patient safety can be improved by reducing misuse and abuse of antibiotics through consideration of individual patient characteristics.