Introduction: General dentists issue approximately 10% of antibiotic prescriptions across the global medical community consummation. The use of antibiotics for the management of dentoalveolar infections should be considered only in the presence of an increased risk of a systemic involvement or to prevent metastatic infections. This study aimed to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotic prescription patterns of Lebanese dentists for the management of dentoalveolar abscesses. The aim was to evaluate the influence of the patients' medical condition and clinical signs data on the patterns of antibiotics prescription. Materials and methods:Only patients with a dentoalveolar abscess were included in the study. Age, medical history, reason for consultation, clinical signs and symptoms, diagnosis, type of local treatment, and type of antibiotherapy were collected for each patient attending dental clinics in Beirut. The data were analyzed with chi-square test and multivariate regression.Results: Out of the 563 initial patients, 127 were selected for the study and received a local treatment. The patient's medical condition and age did not affect the decision to prescribe antibiotics 36.2% patients with pain and 11.8% patients with swelling were prescribed antibiotics. Pain and swelling , e-mail: ghadaasmar@gmail.com contributed to a higher level of antibiotic prescription compared to other signs and symptoms. Antibiotics were prescribed inappropriately to 51.76 and 38.10% among patients with an acute or chronic dentoalveolar abscess respectively. The main prescribed antibiotic was amoxicillin. Conclusion:This study showed that dentists often did not follow the current prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotic prescription guidelines.Clinical significance: Antibiotics prescriptions in dentistry will be more pertinent, leading to a decrease in inadequacy of prescriptions, microbial resistance, and the development of multiresistant germs against antibiotics.

Objectives: Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of dental abscesses is not uncommon. Knowledge about the root canal flora is crucial in order to determine the most effective antibiotics and to limit the emergence of resistant bacteria. The objective of the study was to isolate the root canal flora from teeth associated with dental abscesses, and determine the sensitivity and resistance of the incriminated bacteria to different antibiotics. Methods: Bacterial samples obtained from patients presenting with dental abscesses to Lebanese dental clinics were analyzed to determine the types of involved bacteria. Bacterial sensitivity and resistance were tested. Results: 42 and 85 samples were obtained from chronic and acute dental abscesses, respectively. 19 / 85 samples were from patients with dental abscesses and aggravating clinical signs. The majority of the detected bacteria were facultative anaerobes. Obligate anaerobes were found in teeth with acute dental abscesses and aggravating clinical signs. Gram-positive bacteria showed the highest antibiotic resistance. Penicillin had the highest sensitivity levels. Conclusion: The role of the dentists in making a correct diagnosis is emphasized considering the presence of virulent bacteria. Penicillin should be the primary antibiotic of choice when required in the context of the treatment of dental abscesses.