An audit of antibiotic prescribing in general dental practice.

Clinical audit is widely recognised as the systematic and critical analysis of the quality of clinical care, including treatment regimes, the associated use of resources, and the resulting outcome and quality of life for the patient. The prescribing of antibiotics in general dental practice is an area 'wide open' for audit analysis since the profession must clearly accept its responsibility to use antibiotics sensibly; however, the definition of 'sensibly' is likely to vary from practitioner to practitioner. This audit reviews the need for antibiotic prescribing in general dental practice over two consecutive four-month periods. A consensus was achieved on the rationale for antibiotic prescribing and the number of prescriptions fell by 50% as a result.