International Consensus on a Dental Antibiotic Stewardship Core Outcome Set

Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis. Ensuring responsible, appropriate use (stewardship) is an important for keeping antibiotics working as long as possible. Around 10% of antibiotics across health care are prescribed by oral health care professionals, with high rates of unnecessary use. To maximise the value from research to optimise antibiotic use in dentistry, this study developed international consensus on a core outcome set for dental antibiotic stewardship.

This core outcome set for dental antibiotic stewardship represents the minimum which future studies of antibiotic stewardship in dentistry should report. By supporting researchers to design and report their studies in a way meaningful to multiple stakeholders and enabling international comparisons, the oral health profession’s contribution to global efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance can be further improved.