Resumen
More than 20 million antibiotic prescriptions are written by general dentists in the outpatient setting.1 Antibiotic agents, such as penicillins, lincosamides and macrolides, are widely prescribed by dentists.1 Qualitative evidence suggests that inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics is a common practice in dentistry.1 The unnecessary use of antibiotics promotes global health problems, such as dysbiosis and bacterial resistance to antibiotics.2 Ingestion of antibiotic produces gut dysbiosis (namely alteration of the function and diversity of bacteria in the intestinal microbiome) in patients.3., 4. In addition, dysbiosis of the gut microbiome can be induced by other factors, such as type of diet and lifestyle habits.2 Approximately 30–400 trillion microorganisms inhabit the healthy intestinal tract in humans.4 The main contributions of these symbiotic bacteria to the human host are the prevention of pathogen colonisation, immunomodulatory activity, lymphoid tissue development, vitamin synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism.4 Moreover, the gut microbiome induces the dendritic and follicular dendritic cells to produce immunoglobulin A-secreting plasma cells, and in turn, immunoglobulin A regulates the composition and function of the intestinal microflora.4 Consequently, an imbalance of the gut microbiome can result in dysbiosis-related diseases in patients, such as increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, altered immune homeostasis, allergic diseases, metabolic syndrome, obesity and others.2., 4. Alterations in the gut microbiome caused by exposure to systemic antibiotics are usually reversed within 2 months.2 However, the modified microbial profile may continue for longer periods of time in some patients.2 This latter situation increases the risk of developing dysbiosis-related diseases.2 Therefore, protecting the gut microbiome during antibiotic therapy should be a priority for the dental care professional.(Frag.)
