Antibiotic Aftershocks<\/p>\n
This is part 3 in a three-part series on potential harms from taking antibiotics for dental procedures. Part 1<\/a> was published February 24 and Part 2<\/a> yesterday. All three are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever had a wisdom tooth removed, you probably received an antibiotic from your dentist.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dentists wrote 27.3 million antibiotic prescriptions last year, according to data provided exclusively to CIDRAP News by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, an organization based in Parsippany, New Jersey, that provides research and analysis on health care data. Many of these antibiotics are unnecessary.<\/p>\n In a three-part series this week, CIDRAP News is investigating the overuse of antibiotics in dentistry, including changes that dentists and consumers can make to reduce the risk of harm.<\/p>\n Although 10% to 15% of dental antibiotics prescriptions are written for people with current infections, the rest are prescribed to people before or after a dental procedure \u201cjust in case\u201d an infection develops,\u00a0said Katie J. Suda, PharmD, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Research by Suda and her colleagues found that 80%<\/a> of such preventive dental antibiotics are inappropriate.<\/p>\n Patients aren\u2019t helped by taking unneeded medications, Suda said. Furthermore, any antibiotic can cause serious harm, including allergic reactions; infections with a superbug called Clostridioides difficile, or C difficile; and antimicrobial resistance, in which pathogens\u00a0become impervious<\/a> to even powerful medications.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more we use an antibiotic, the less effective it becomes,\u201d said Debra Goff, PharmD, a professor of pharmacy practice at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and an infectious disease specialist at Ohio State\u2019s Wexner Medical Center.<\/p>\n People can take a number of steps to avoid being exposed to inappropriate antibiotics, experts say.<\/p>\n Keep your mouth healthy<\/p>\n Maintaining good oral health helps to prevent dental infections. If you develop pain or swelling in your mouth, call a dentist right away. With early treatment, many patients don\u2019t need antibiotics,\u00a0said\u00a0Erinne Kennedy, DDS, MPH, a board member of the Association for Dental Safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t pressure your health care provider for antibiotics<\/p>\n Research shows that most people\u00a0who undergo dental<\/a> procedures or who experience pain and swelling don\u2019t need antibiotics, said Kennedy, who is also assistant dean for curriculum and learning at Kansas City College of Dental Medicine in Missouri. That evidence has led medical and dental societies to recommend them only for people with very specific health conditions or who have compromised immune systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n The American Dental Association (ADA)\u00a0recommends antibiotics<\/a> for people with tooth pain who also have a fever, chills, or other signs of a systemic infection (those affecting multiple organ systems). Although the best way to cure a dental infection is to immediately treat the tooth\u2014such as by performing a root canal or extraction\u2014ADA guidelines state that antibiotics may be appropriate for patients who can\u2019t have definitive treatment right away, in order to prevent a localized infection from spreading, Kennedy said.<\/p>\n The American Heart Association (AHA)\u00a0used to recommend preventive antibiotics<\/a> before invasive dental procedures for people with a variety of heart conditions. Cardiologists were concerned about the very small risk that oral bacteria might travel to the heart and cause infective endocarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart or valves, in people undergoing such procedures, said Walter Wilson, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.<\/p>\n![\"Dentist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-1225089453.jpg\")
\nAXIO-IMAGES \/ iStock<\/p>\n