A new study has revealed one of the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns in England earlier this year has been a 25% in the prescription of antibiotics by dentists.

The research, published in the BDJ,1 highlighted regional variances, with London (60%) and the South West (10%) showing the highest and lowest variances respectively. The East of England had the highest rate of dental antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 of the population every month over the study period (April to July 2020).

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global problem that poses a significant threat to health and wealth, due to prolonged illnesses, longer hospital stays and increased mortality. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the urgency of tackling ABR by including it in the five platforms to global health and wellbeing. ABR is a problem that affects everyone and needs tackling urgently. If ABR continues to increase, it is estimated that infections resistant to drugs will be the number one cause of death globally within the next 30 years.

Antibiotics do not cure toothache. Most dental infections are amenable to treatment by a dental procedure to remove the source of the infection without the need for antibiotics. In normal times, antibiotic-only treatment plans are rarely appropriate. Unnecessary use of antibiotics drives the development and spread of resistant infections.

Dr Wendy Thompson, author of the study, clinical academic in primary dental care at the University of Manchester and member of the FDI ABR Working Group, said: 'Antibiotics are life-saving drugs; when people really need them, they really need to work.

'Infections that are resistant to antibiotics pose a serious risk to patient safety-which is why the large rise in dental antibiotic prescribing (over 25 per cent in the three months of April to June) is a huge concern. After years of a downward trend, restricted access to dental care due to COVID-19 drove this sudden increase. We must guard against it happening again when the UK finds itself in another lockdown environment.

'We live in especially challenging times. Patients waiting for access to care often receive more antibiotics than those patients who receive the right treatment immediately. As dental care provision returns to a 'new normal' in the COVID-19 era, it is important to ensure access to high-quality, urgent dental care and to optimise the use of antibiotics.'