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Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global burden on health and a threat to development and well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the AMR is one of the 10 top global public health problems threatening humanity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well clinical dental students, working dentists, pharmacists, and the general public in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates, knew and understood the use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were 278 individuals, including clinical year dental students, interns, and dentists (n=134), RAK private pharmacists (n=50), and the general public outpatients (n=92), who had recently taken antibiotics, were given both an electronic and a physical copy of a pre-tested and pre-validated questionnaire, where each survey measures a different variable. Descriptive and analytical statistics were included in the data. Of the 278 questionnaires that were distributed, 258 were completed (response rate: 92.8%). One of the main reasons given by 16% of patients was self-medication with antibiotics for toothaches. Antibiotics were typically recommended by dentists to treat pain (34%) and facial edema (47%). 22% of pharmacists were requested to dispense antibiotics without a prescription, which is a sizable percentage. The participants were aware of the pattern in antibiotic prescriptions, but self-medication and non-surgical pain management frequently contributed to excessive antibiotic prescriptions based solely on antibiotic efficacy. The general population needs to be exclusively made aware of the risks posed by antibiotic resistance‎.

Keywords: Antibiotics, Bacterial resistance, Self-medication, Knowledge, Dental management

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