Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 9/201412 In November, experts and researchers fromaroundtheUKmetinLondonforasum- mit organised by the British Dental Associa- tion(BDA)todiscusswhatdentistrycandoto address the problem of antimicrobial resist- ance.DentalTribuneUKhadtheopportunity to speak with Dr Graham Stokes, Chair of the BDA Health and Science Committee and one oftheinitiatorsofthesummit,aboutitsout- comes and implications for the profession. DentalTribune UK: Dr Stokes,antimicrobial re- sistancehasbeenidentifiedasaseriousthreat to public health worldwide in a report issued by the World Health Organization this year. Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Prof. JohnWatsonrecentlysaid that theriseofmul- tidrug-resistant bacteria is creating the per- fectstorm.Isthesummittobeunderstoodasa response to these warnings? Dr Graham Stokes: The summit was actu- ally held in conjunction with the upcoming European Antibiotic Awareness Day on 18 November.WeattheBDAfelttheneedtocon- vene experts and researchers working in the field of antimicrobial resistance in order to consider the role of dentistry in addressing this difficult problem, in particular working towards improving awareness in the profes- sion and among the general public. Dentistsareresponsibleforapproximatelyten per cent of all antibiotic prescriptions in the UK.Howmuchdoweknowabouthowmanyof these are prescribed inappropriately? Evidence suggests that of all antibiotics prescribed through dentistry, some are in- deedinappropriatelygiven.Inmanyofthese cases,patientscouldbetreatedinalternative ways that may be better suited to their pain. What we need to do is to determine how we can improve that situation by looking at the factors that influence the reason that antibi- otics are given in dentistry, both in primary and secondary care. It is also important to worktogethertoensurethattheappropriate treatment is given at the appropriate time to patients. They must be at the top of our agenda. Inaletterpublishedintherecenteditionofthe British Dental Journal, your colleague Dr Susie Sanderson wrote that the encouragement for antibioticstewardshipindentistryin theUKis lacking.Would you agree with this statement, and who is to blame for the situation in your opinion? Whatwelearntatthesummitwasthatden- tists overall feel that they prescribe anti- biotics to a minimal extent compared with other fields. They also perceive that pressure from patients sometimes influences whether and how antibiotics are provided, evenwhenothertreatmentsseemtobemore appropriate. That is why we need a co-ordi- nated approach to ensure that there is enough time for dentists to treat patients properly, particularly those who come in un- scheduled with an emergency. Such care needs to be appropriately funded as well. There needs to be greater awareness among dentists in general of the problem of antimi- crobial resistance, however. One of the aims of the summit was to compile aconsensusreporttopresentattheBDA’snext annual congress in Manchester. How far have you come with this endeavour,and what were the main points agreed on by most partici- pants? Obviously, there was a wide-ranging dis- cussion on all of the topics and information presented to us. One of the recommenda- tions was that dentists should have properly funded protected emergency slots in their daily work. We also need systems in place to protect dentists when complaints arise after they have performed a treatment that they believed was the appropriate one. Further- more, it would be beneficial for dentists to monitor their own prescribing patterns so they can ensure the best care for their pa- tients. Itisalsoimportantthatweinformthepub- lic and our patients about antimicrobial re- sistance and encourage dentists to discuss their antibiotic-prescribing policy with their patients as early as possible. In order to do this,weneedtoensurethatgraduatesreceive good knowledge of antibiotic prescription through their training and that they know howtotranslatethisknowledgeintopractice. Leadership from the Department of Health is needed in co-ordinating all of these efforts to avoid repetition in different areas. What will be the next steps to translate these recommendations into practice? Theoverridingapproachshouldoneofed- ucation for the profession, our patients and the public with regard to antimicrobial re- sistance and working together with the com- missioningbodiestoensurethatpatientcare is put first. What is theroleof thedentalprofessionin the fight against antimicrobial resistance in the future? In dentistry, we need to ensure that we al- waysprovideourpatientswiththeappropri- ate treatment. As we have regular contact withthepublic,wealsohavetoeducatethem about the wider issues of antimicrobial re- sistance. By working together with our col- leaguesinmedicine,dentistscouldplayakey role in combating this significant problem, which we must all be aware of and take re- sponsibility for. Thank you very much for the interview. TRENDS & APPLICATIONS “Patients must be at the top of our agenda” An interview with the Chair of the BDA Health and Science Committee Dr Graham Stokes, London. Dr Graham Stokes “…dentists overall feel that they prescribe antibiotics to a minimal extent compared with other ﬁelds.“

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

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