Health authorities in Minnesota have been trying to reduce the spread of antibiotic-related germs by discouraging doctors from overprescribing the drugs — but new data suggests they need to be concerned about dentists as well.
Epidemiologists with the Minnesota Department of Health reviewed 1,626 cases of a nasty intestinal infection known as Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, that occurred from 2009 to 2015 outside of hospitals or health care facilities.
Among them, 926 involved people who had recently taken antibiotics. That's not surprising, because the C. diff bacteria often swoop in after antibiotics have suppressed other germs in the body.
But experts were surprised to find that 136 people received the antibiotics for dental procedures. The results were presented last month at a science symposium in San Diego.
Dentists used to prescribe antibiotics prophylactically — to prevent bacterial infections from emerging — before some oral procedures, but the practice isn't recommended as much today, said Dr. Amanda Beaudoin, who directs a state program, One Health, designed to get health care professionals and the public on board with conserving antibiotics.
"Dentists have been overlooked and actually do a lot of prescribing to patients who end up getting C. diff," she said.
Results are mixed in the state's overall fight against infections that are tied to antibiotic overuse.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, emerged over the last half-century as bacteria evolved in response to the broad use of antibiotics. But the rate of MRSA has been cut almost in half since 2004 in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, state health data shows. Beaudoin said that is largely due to hospitals following strict guidelines for preventing infections from spreading to patients.
