Dental Infections: Clinical and Microbiological Evaluation of Responsiveness to Twice Daily Amoxicillin-Clavulanic Acid (Amoxiclave)

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the types of bacteria causing dental infections in Duhok city, Iraq, and examine its response to twice daily Amoxicillin- Clavulanic acid (Amoxiclav). Methods: The study was conducted in Duhok Dental Health Center from November 2007 to April 2008, and included 47 adult patients with the following dental infections: dry socket, pericoronitis, cellulitis, and periapical abscess. After taking smear or drainage for culture and sensitivity study, patients were prescribed Amoxiclave one gram twice daily for one week. Results: After ten days, culture/ sensitivity studies were repeated. More than three quarter of the total isolates were made up by Streptococcus anginosus (31%), Actinomyces israeli (22%), Staphylococcus aureus (16%) and Bacteroides fragilis (8%); more than half of the isolates had mixed infections. Conclusions: The overall cure rate was (87%); the cure rate was (94%) in acute infections and (86%) in chronic ones. It may be concluded that Amoxiclave, as prescribed here, is effective against most of the isolated dental microbes.