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Antibiotic Stewardship | Adverse Events | Penicillin Allergies | Additional Resources | Continuing Education

Dental team members have an active role in antibiotic stewardship efforts within the dental setting by promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics, helping to improve patient outcomes, and decrease the spread of drug-resistant organisms. Auxiliary team members often initiate patient interviews, review medical histories, and assess potential drug-drug interactions and the potential for other adverse drug events. Team members may also provide patient education regarding antibiotic prescribing and usage and have an opportunity to improve patient adherence to the antibiotic prescription. Dental team members can find guidance on stewardship efforts for dental team members and useful tools to help implement this important strategy for patient safety. 

What does Antibiotic Stewardship mean for the dental team?

• Considerations for responsible antibiotic use in dentistry
• Using antibiotics wisely
• “Taking a bite out of “antibiotic prescribing”: The need for antimicrobial stewardship in dentistry (Podcast)
• Improve patient safety by optimizing antibiotic prescribing (CDC Blog)
• Beating antimicrobial resistance takes all of us (JADA Commentary)
  
• Infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship in dentistry (JADA Commentary, 2025)

Resources and Tools

• Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship (CDC) 
• NEW! Clinician Checklist for Antibiotic Prescribing in Dentistry (CDC)
• NEW! Antibiotic Stewardship Resource Bundles for Dentistry (CDC)
• Antibiotic Use for a Safe Dental Visit (CDC)
• NEW! Infection Prevention and Antibiotic Stewardship in Dentistry (article)
• NEW! SOP Template to Incorporate Antibiotic Stewardship Into Your Dental Practice
• Measurement Tools
• Antibiotic Stewardship Chart Audit Tool
• CHARM Project Dashboard (contact Dr. Mike Klepser for details)
• NEW! Train the Trainer Toolkit (ADS)
• Antibiotic Safety at the Dentist (Brochure)
• Educational Resources for Healthcare Professionals (CDC)

What are Adverse Events that can occur with antibiotic use?

• CDC: Adverse Drug Events from Antibiotics (CDC)
• Antibiotic Resistance (MedlinePlus)

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Penicillin Allergies

• Penicillin Allergy—What do you need to know?
• CDC Factsheet: Is It Really a Penicillin Allergy? 
• Tools for evaluating penicillin allergies:
• Penicillin-Allergy Assessment Tool
• Penicillin Allergy Reassessment for Treatment Improvement (PARTI) Tool
• Do You Really Have a Penicillin Allergy Patient Education (Poster)
• How to Approach to Patients Reporting Penicillin Allergies? (Video)
  
  

Opportunistic Infections Clostridium difficile (C. diff) & Antibiotic Resistance

• What is C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) (CDC)?
• Why is C. diff so dangerous? (Sepsis Alliance)
• Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection Update
• What you need to know about Clostridium difficile? (APIC)?
• Advocacy: Peggy Lillis Foundation for C. diff Education & Advocacy

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Additional Resources

• State Toolkits offer templates and tools. Click HERE to access successful toolkits and policy information.
• Patient educational tools are available HERE.
• Prescriber tools and resources are available HERE.
• Antibiotic Stewardship Commitment Poster for dental practice. Available for Download.
• Train the Trainer Toolkit (ADS) HERE.

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Continuing Education

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

• January 21 (Wednesday), 2026. NNOHA National Webinar, 4 - 5 pm EDT (1 CE)
  The 411 on Antibiotic Stewardship for Health Centers with Erinne Kennedy, DMD, MPH, MMSc. This educational webinar will be presented by the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) and is co-sponsored with ADS.
• February 3 (Tuesday), 2026. 4:15 - 5:15 EDT (1 CE), Atlanta, GA. (1 CE)
  Antibiotic Stewardship as a Standard Operating Procedure in Practice with Erinne Kennedy, DMD, MPH, MMSc. Participants must be registered to attend the ADS 2026 Dental Infection Control & Prevention Boot Camp in Atlanta, GA.
• March 3 (Tuesday), 2026 at 7 pm ET. Webinar.
  Antibiotic Stewardship with Erinne Kennedy, DMD, MPH, MMSc. This webinar is sponsored by the Queens Country Dental Society in Queens County, NY.

ON-DEMAND COURSES

• NEWLY POSTED! 2025 ADS (formerly OSAP) Free Webinar (1 CE). Antibiotic Prophylaxis: Weighing the Risks and Benefits - Has the Scale Changed? Dr. Matthew Grosso (AAOS) and Dr. Erinne Kennedy (ADS) discuss the new AAOS clinical practice guideline and appropriate use criteria.
• 2025 ADS (formerly OSAP) Third Annual Dental Antibiotic Stewardship Summit (On-Demand)
• Click HERE for On-Demand recordings offering up to 6.5 hours of CE credit. Note, you must log-in to the ADS website, but membership is not required. Click HERE for instructions to claim self-study CE credit.
• Click HERE for a Blog Summary of the Summit.
• 2025 Antibiotic Stewardship (DACE Online Course)
• Guideline on Antibiotic Use for the Urgent Management of Dental Pain and Intraoral Swelling (ADA Online Course)
• Antibiotics Stewardship (ADA Online Course)
• "SparkNotes" Version of 2024 Dental Antibiotic Stewardship Summit (On-Demand)
• 2024 OSAP Antibiotic Stewardship Summit (On-Demand package of 7 hours CE)
• Antibiotic Considerations in Dentistry (CDC)

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Click on the boxes below to view resources for prescribers, policymakers, and patients receiving dental care.

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