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Antimicrobial resistance

Seriously risky antibiotics

British Dental Journal volume 239, pages 708–709 (2025)Cite this article

Key points

  • Poor oral health can be life-threatening, and dentists are among the highest prescribers of antibiotics across human healthcare.

  • Antibiotics don't cure toothache, and they are associated with serious, life-threatening adverse outcomes, including Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection, anaphylaxis and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

  • Prevention is better than cure. Universal access to oral healthcare is essential for preventing and treating acute oral and dental problems in line with clinical guidelines.

  • When people need antibiotics, they need them to work. Help keep antibiotics working by using them only when strictly necessary.

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Fig. 1

References

  1. British Dental Association. Dentists: skimping on urgent care risks fuelling antibiotic apocalypse. 2025. Available at https://www.bda.org/media-centre/dentists-skimping-on-urgent-care-risks-fuelling-antibiotic-apocalypse/ (accessed 1 November 2025).

  2. Peggy Lillis Foundation. Homepage. Available at https://cdiff.org/ (accessed 1 November 2025).

  3. GBD 2021 Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990–2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050. Lancet 2024; 404: 1199–1226.

  4. The AMR Narrative. Founder. Available at https://amrnarrative.org/about-our-work/founder/ (accessed 1 November 2025).

  5. Royal College of Pathologists. National Medical Examiner's Good Practice Series No. 9. 2022. Available at https://www.rcpath.org_Good-Practice-Series-Recording-antimicrobial-resistance-on-the-Medical-Certificate-of-Cause-of-DeathFinal.pdf (accessed 1 November 2025).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Senior Lecturer, Primary Dental Care, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

    Wendy Thompson

  2. Academic Clinical Fellow, Primary Care Dentistry, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

    Laurie Powell

  3. Postgraduate Researcher, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

    Erick Venant

Authors
  1. Wendy Thompson
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  2. Laurie Powell
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  3. Erick Venant
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wendy Thompson, Laurie Powell or Erick Venant.

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Cite this article

Thompson, W., Powell, L. & Venant, E. Seriously risky antibiotics. Br Dent J 239, 708–709 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-025-9381-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-025-9381-0

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