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Antibiotic Stewardship Policy 2025

Purpose:

Antibiotic stewardship (AS) is essential for reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance and ensuring patient safety. AS aims to optimize the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections by ensuring the use of antibiotics for the correct diagnosis, dose, duration, and timing. However, antibiotic stewardship in practice is more than a clinical decision. It’s a cohesive effort to engage the dental team, medical professionals, and patients in a commitment to use antibiotics only when necessary, based on the best evidence available for clinical decision-making. This policy details the AS framework and establishes key principles around antibiotic prescribing and management that every dental practice should employ.

Authority:

The Association for Dental Safety (ADS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to infection prevention and control education, training, and credentialing that supports safe dental visits.

Scope:

This policy applies to members of this organization, including clinicians, group practices, educators, researchers, consultants, trainers, compliance directors, policymakers, and industry representatives.

Responsible Party:

The ADS Board of Directors, advised by the AS Committee, is responsible for providing education and training on CDC’s Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship.

Policy Statement:

This policy establishes the criticality of evidence-based antibiotic prescribing and management in dentistry.
ADS supports the design, implementation, and spread of knowledge and understanding of antibiotic resistance and stewardship in the care of patients.

All ADS members are encouraged to advocate for dental practices to incorporate: