Dentists Prescribing Too Many Antibiotics, Says BCCDC

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control says dentists are prescribing too many antibiotics — and it wants patients to help solve that problem.

A new poster campaign launched  by the BCCDC and the B.C. Dental Association is asking people to consider how they use antibiotics.

The posters, posted prominently on SkyTrains, picture the open mouth of a dental patient with the caption, “Just say ‘nahhh’ to antibiotics.”

“Whether your patient leaves your office pissed off or happy with your decision not to prescribe, that’s going to affect your likelihood to do that again,” David Patrick, the centre’s medical epidemiologist and lead for antimicrobial resistance, told On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko.

“That’s very clear in all the behavioural literature.”

That, Patrick says, is why patients need to be part of the effort, even though it is the dentist who writes the prescription.

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