Knowledge and perception of the French ANSM recommendations for acute odontogenic cellulitis in French private dental practices: a national survey

Abstract

Introduction: Caring for acute odontogenic cellulitis involves drainage, treatment of the tooth and the administration of antibiotic therapy (ANSM 2011). The emergence of bacterial resistance mechanisms has led to formulating actions to promote better use of antibiotics, but France stay one of the largest consumers in Europe. Objectives: Evaluate the impact of ANSM's recommendations on dental surgeons in France for treatment of this affection. Methods: We performed a national survey with 12365 practitioners who received the questionnaire by email. Results: On 690 responder practitioners, 13% followed the recommendations to the letter and 70.5% performed a clinical intervention on the day of emergency. Only 1/3 of cases involved the prescription of amoxicillin alone for first line treatment. Conclusion: Few data exist on the evaluation of the impact of recommendations regarding this subject, but it is generally accepted it they are seldom followed. The reasons expressed are many: disagreement between practitioners on the efficiency of recommendations, lack of time and organizational constraints.

Keywords

• guidelines
• dental surgeons
• dental infection
• antibiotics