Dental antibiotic policies, stewardship, and implementation in India: A policy document analysis

Dental antibiotic stewardship is crucial in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is high and antibiotic misuse is common. Given that India is the most populous country, the largest antibiotic consumer and has a large dental prescriber population, this study investigated the extent to which current Indian policy and practice for dental antibiotic prescribing and stewardship aligns with the global policy and best practice.

The READ approach was used to identify and extract data and synthesize the findings. Policy documents on dental antimicrobial stewardship were identified using a systematic search strategy involving nine medical and grey literature databases (Medline, Global Health, Web of Science, Cochrane, CINAHL, Eldis, Global Index Medicus, Proquest and Opengrey), targeted websites (government organizations and dental regulatory bodies) and contact with experts. Framework analysis was used to code extracted data into themes related to dental antimicrobial stewardship.

Of the 3039 records screened, 25 documents were included in the final analysis. The analysis showed a lack of guidelines or toolkits for appropriate antibiotic prescribing in dentistry in India. The treatment guidelines for antimicrobial use in common syndromes published by the Indian Council of Medical Research had no section or content for dental practitioners. Furthermore, the undergraduate dental curriculum developed by the Dental Council of India (DCI), included little content on appropriate antibiotic prescribing and no mention of AMR or stewardship. There were no educational resources either for dental practitioners or patients in the documents.

This document analysis showed that there was little or no mention of dental antibiotic prescribing guidelines in key policy documents such as the National Action Plan on AMR. In addition, contradictory and subjective information provided in some policy documents could encourage dentists and other health professionals such as general practitioners to prescribe antibiotics for common dental conditions for which they are contra-indicated. There is an urgent need to develop relevant guidelines and include these in Indian policy documents on AMR particularly the National Action Plan on AMR.