Investigation of prophylaxis practices of dentists in denizli province against infective endocarditis risk: a survey study

Objective: Due to the high morbidity and mortality rates of infective endocarditis (IE) cases, the American Heart Association (AHA) and many other organizations recommend antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) for patients at risk of IE. However, differences and updates among the guidelines have led to confusion and non-compliance among dentists. Some dentists do not adequately adopt the existing guidelines and prefer different approaches based on their own experiences. This study aims to evaluate dentists' approaches to AP implementation and their compliance with AHA guidelines. Method: The study included dentists working in various institutions in the Denizli province. Data were collected by survey method, the survey consisted of questions regarding the participants' demographic information, approaches to AP in patients at risk of IE, and their awareness of this issue. The Chi-square test was applied to determine the relationships between categorical variables. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for the relationships between the groups. Results: In our study, 241 volunteer dentists participated, including 77 (%32) from Pamukkale University Faculty of Dentistry, 81 (%33.6) from Denizli Oral and Dental Health Hospital or district state hospitals, and 83 (%34.4) working in private dental clinics and practices. The analyses revealed that dentists' approaches to AP differ from AHA guidelines for some cardiac conditions.Additionally, significant differences were observed between dentists' attitudes towards dental procedures and their drug preferences; however, some lack of awareness about the practices was also detected. Conclusion: There are data showing that dentists have different approaches to AP practices and that these approaches are not compatible with AHA guidelines.