Yazd Journal of Dental Research

Introduction: An association between dental treatment and Infective endocarditis (IE) incidence has been to some extent demonstrated, therefore, the appropriate prescription of the type of required drug for prophylaxis against IE is important. This study intended to evaluate dental students’ knowledge on the appropriate prescription of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent IE in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd during 2013-2014. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 129 fourth to sixth-year students in Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, in Yazd during 2013-2014. The samples were enrolled by census sampling method and a standard questionnaire was used comprising 15 knowledge questions on the appropriate prescription of EI antibiotic prophylaxis. In fact, it was filled out by the students as a self-administered questionnaire after they were given information on the research purposes. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS (Version,17) using descriptive statistical tests, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman Correlation Coefficient. Results: In this study, 65.9% (85) students were female and 34.1% (44) were male. 69.6% of the sixth-year students, 67.14% of the fifth-year students, and 62.12% of the fourth-year students revealed some knowledge on the appropriate prescription of antibiotic prophylaxis, with no significant difference among the three groups (p=0.61). Furthermore, no statistically significant difference was observed in regard with the students’ knowledge and gender (p=0.15). ), though a significant relationship was reported on the association between knowledge level and the students’ grade point average. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that the highest knowledge on the appropriate prescription of antibiotic prophylaxis was observed in the sixth-year students. Hence, the process of antibiotic prophylaxis should be trained in the students’ working environment. These trainings need to be conducted as per the guidelines to decrease the risk of IE in the patients.