Patterns of Antibiotic Use for Endodontic Treatment Among Final-Year Dentistry Students: A Questionnaire-Based Study

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Turkey with 193 senior dental students to assess their antibiotic prescribing habits in endodontic scenarios. The survey included multiple-choice questions and 11 case-based scenarios evaluated on a five-point Likert scale. Qualitative data were summarized using numbers and percentages, while categorical data were analyzed using chi-square tests. Of the 587 students contacted, 193 (32.8%) responded; 60.1% were female. Most students prescribed recommended antibiotics such as amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (58%). Clindamycin was preferred in cases of penicillin allergy (45.6%); however, 9.4% of participants mistakenly selected penicillin derivatives, indicating a significant prescribing error. Inappropriate prescribing was also observed in clinical scenarios that did not involve systemic infection, particularly in non-indicated retreatment cases. A statistically significant gender-based difference was identified only in Scenario 9, which involved moderate to severe symptoms requiring root canal retreatment (p = 0.01). These findings indicated that students' clinical decision-making may be limited in some scenarios, pointing to potential areas for improvement in endodontic education. Educational interventions focusing on clinical reasoning in case-based scenarios and reinforcing guideline-based prescribing are strongly recommended to improve prescribing accuracy and reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance.