Drug Prescribing Practices in Dental Care Patients at a Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic in Oman

OBJECTIVES: We sought to assess medications prescribed to patients attending the Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery (DMS) clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), Oman. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study covering a six-month period from January to June 2018 including a sample of patients attending the DMS clinic. Drug utilization data like drug name, type, administration route, dosage frequency, and anatomical and therapeutic class were assessed. RESULTS: The study included 400 patients, of which 190 (47.5%) were males and 210 (52.5%) were females. A total of 88 different drugs were prescribed. Only 140 (35.0%) patients were prescribed drugs for their dental conditions or other comorbidities per visit, and the rest 260 (65.0%) were not prescribed any drugs. The dentists prescribed drugs only in 116 (29.0%) patients. The most common diagnosis was dental caries (n = 177, 44.3%) followed by chronic gingivitis (n = 15, 3.8%). The most common comorbidities in patients were anemia (n = 45, 11.3%) and diabetes (n = 21, 5.3%). The most common drugs prescribed were chlorhexidine mouthwash (n = 43, 37.1%) and paracetamol (n = 36, 31.0%) followed by ibuprofen (n = 10, 8.6%) and amoxicillin/clavulanate (n = 5, 4.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Drugs prescribing pattern was within the international norms. Sixty-five percent of the patients were not prescribed any drug by the dentist. Oral antiseptics, analgesics, and antibiotics were the most common drugs prescribed by dentists.