Sir, today is 18 November 2016, the European Antibiotic Awareness Day. I sincerely applaud today's eloquent BDJ editorial1 which recapitulates the crucial importance of proper antibiotic management in dentistry and raises awareness of this issue that is so, so important for humankind.
Microbes almost always steal a march on us humans, and the weaponry as well as the armamentarium available to us in defence against these ferociously lethal enemies is rapidly dwindling for a variety of reasons. Shortly we are bound to run out of our weaponry and it is critical we resort to rational prescribing to save our armoury.
The ground rules of rational prescribing of antibiotics are clearly articulated in the recently released Antimicrobial Stewardship Toolkit mentioned in the editorial and at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dental-antimicrobial-stewardship-toolkit, and elsewhere. I implore all clinicians to visit this site for a few minutes to refresh their memory on strategic and rational antibiotic prescribing.
References
Hancocks S . Antibiotics don't cure toothache. Br Dent J 2016; 221: 595.
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Samaranayake, L. Antimicrobial resistance: Refresh your memory. Br Dent J 222, 3 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2017.5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2017.5