Changes in Medication Prescribing Due to COVID-19 in Dental Practice in Croatia—National Study

Abstract

The 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has affected clinical practice and, consequently, drug prescribing in dental practice. We investigated how the pandemic affected the prescribing behavior of dentists in Croatia. Data on prescribing practices for this study were provided by the Croatian Health Insurance Institute. The analysis included the number of prescriptions, costs, and the number of packages prescribed. The World Health Organization’s defined daily dose per 1000 inhabitants (DID) per day was used as an objective utilization comparison. During the first pandemic year, prescribing practice changed the most. Wide-spectrum antibiotics, analgesics, and antiseptics showed the highest trend in change. A statistically significant change in prescribing practices during the pandemic period was noted for amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, ibuprofen, and ketoprofen which showed an increase in trend, while cephalexin and diclofenac showed a statistically significant decrease. The highest increase in trend was recorded for azithromycin, at +39.3%. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a marked increase in medication utilization, especially in the first year of the pandemic. The increase in wide-spectrum antibiotic classes needs to be addressed and regulated so that patients accept that antibiotics are not a substitute for dental treatment and dentists always start treatment with narrow-spectrum antibiotics regardless of specific times, as is the case with the pandemic.