Assessment of the Knowledge and Awareness Levels of Dentists Regarding Prophylaxis for Infective Endocarditis

OpenAlex İngilizce

Aim: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious heart disease with high mortality and morbidity. Antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended for patients at risk of infective endocarditis before dental procedures. This Turkish online descriptive survey aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness levels of dentists and dental studentsregarding antibiotic prophylaxis for patients at risk of infective endocarditis.Method: Data on participants’ demographics and responses regarding dental treatments and heart diseasesrequiring prophylaxis as well as antibiotic dosage, duration, and administration time were collected betweenFebruary 1 and June 30, 2016 in Turkey. For each correct answer one point was given. A score of >4 was consideredsuccessful.Results: In total, 584 dentists and 199 dental students participated in the questionnaire survey. The rate of ad-ministration of antibiotic prophylaxis against infective endocarditis was found as 92.59%. Overall success ratesof dental procedures requiring prophylaxis and knowledge regarding heart diseases were 90.3% and 72.6%,respectively. Knowledge levels regarding the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for heart diseases and antibiotic do-sage and duration were greater in women, those with ≤5 years of professional experience, dentists, and thoseworking at dental faculties (p<0.05). Dentists with ≤5 years of professional experience had greater levels ofawareness about dental procedures requiring prophylaxis than those with >5 years of experience (p<0.001).Conclusion: Given their poor knowledge of antibiotic prophylaxis against infective endocarditis, once again ithas been revealed that dentists should receive in-service training to keep up with current practices.