Non-Cochrane · prevalence · PM41594051
Over-Prescription of Antibiotics for Pulpitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Surveys.
Delgado-Giugni Vanessa, León-López María, Crespo-Gallardo Isabel, et al. · Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025 · PubMed · doi:10.3390/antibiotics15010013
Findings
4 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dentists (general dental practitioners and endodontists) | Systemic antibiotic prescribing for pulpitis | Not applicable (single-group prevalence) | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis Surveys published 2015 to 2024 · Sensitivity analysis excluding two high-prevalence studies | Pooled prevalence (%) 13.3 [8.0, 21.3] GRADE not reported 10 studies |
| Dentists (general dental practitioners and endodontists) | Systemic antibiotic prescribing for pulpitis | Not applicable (single-group prevalence) | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis Surveys published 2015 to 2024 | Pooled prevalence (%) 19.2 [10.4, 32.6] Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency, indirectness, publication bias 12 studies · 3189 participants |
| General dental practitioners | Systemic antibiotic prescribing for pulpitis | Not applicable (single-group prevalence) | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis Surveys published 2015 to 2024 · General dental practitioners | Pooled prevalence (%) 26.9 [14.9, 43.5] GRADE not reported 10 studies · 2398 participants |
| Endodontists | Systemic antibiotic prescribing for pulpitis | Not applicable (single-group prevalence) | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis Surveys published 2015 to 2024 · Endodontists | Pooled prevalence (%) 5.1 [1.2, 19.2] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 791 participants |
Included primary studies 12
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozmen 2024 Antibiotic use in pediatric dental infections: knowledge and awareness levels of dentists. PMID:39438651 | 2024 | 2 other reviews | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Alattas 2017 Prescription of antibiotics for pulpal and periapical pathology among dentists in southern Saudi Arabia. PMID:28455077 | 2017 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Alonso-Ezpeleta 2018 Use of antibiotics by spanish dentists receiving postgraduate training in endodontics. PMID:30057712 | 2018 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Babar 2022 An evaluation of antibiotic prescribing practices among dentists in Lahore: A cross-sectional study DOI:10.54393/pjhs.v3i04.84 | 2022 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Bolfoni 2018 Antibiotic prescription for endodontic infections: a survey of Brazilian Endodontists. PMID:28744872 | 2018 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Dias 2022 Antibiotic indication in endodontics by Colombian dentists with different levels of training: a survey. PMID:36748738 | 2022 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Dominguez-Dominguez 2021 Antibiotics Prescription by Spanish General Practitioners in Primary Dental Care. PMID:34208145 | 2021 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Drobac 2021 Antibiotic Prescribing Practices in Endodontic Infections: A Survey of Dentists in Serbia. PMID:33445544 | 2021 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Iqbal 2015 The Attitudes of Dentists Towards the Prescription of Antibiotics During Endodontic Treatment in North of Saudi Arabia. PMID:26155570 | 2015 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Maslamani 2018 Antibiotic and Analgesic Prescription Patterns among Dentists or Management of Dental Pain and Infection during Endodontic Treatment. PMID:29262417 | 2018 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Mengari 2020 Coupling of rigid to flexible imaging multifibers. PMID:20208616 | 1978 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
| Yaqoob 2024 Evaluation of dentists' clinical practices and antibiotic use in managing endodontic emergencies in Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional… PMID:39732678 | 2024 | this review only | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Licensed dentists (general practitioners and specialists) | Dentists (n=3189): GDPs (n=2398), endodontists (n=791) |
| Intervention | Not applicable (prevalence review; Condition: antibiotic prescribing) | Not applicable |
| Comparison | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Outcomes | Proportion of dentists prescribing systemic antibiotics for pulpitis | Pooled prevalence of antibiotic prescribing for pulpitis (12 studies) |
| Study designs | Observational studies (cross-sectional surveys); published from 2015 | 12 cross-sectional surveys (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Turkey, Spain, Serbia, Brazil, Colombia) |
| Timing | Not specified | Studies published 2015 to 2024 |