Importance of antibiotics in dentistry

Two important discoveries ushered in a new era in chemotherapy, and revolutionized the treatment of infectious diseases. The first was the discovery in 1935 of the curative effects of Prontosil red dye on streptococcal infections. This was the precursor to sulfonamides. The second was the one that started the golden age of antibiotic therapy, we refer to the discovery of penicillin and its subsequent development. This was discovered by Fleming in 1929 and in 1940 Florey, Chain and collaborators, demonstrated and published a report about its enormous potency and the possibility of its extraction from the culture supernatants of the Penicillium notatum fungus. Current knowledge about physiology. Bacterial metabolism and genetics, as well as the available resources on modeling and interaction of molecules, suggests that more and more new antimicrobials will be purely synthetic substances with great specificity for a previously chosen site of action, and with the ability to circumvent the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. This chapter will focus on some generalities of antibiotics and then on the main characteristics of the groups of antibiotics most used in clinical practice. It is not our objective to substitute pharmacology texts, an essential complement for the knowledge of antibiotics (2). There are numerous conditions that require antimicrobial treatment, which manifest infectious processes of dental care, without minimizing the procedures or septic states attended by the physician that do not require antibiotic therapy. We would like to recognize that preventive treatment constitutes in our specialty a fundamental pillar in the prevention of infections or septic complications. We emphasize that optimal oral hygiene, good surgical techniques and a narrow evolution of a patient can influence successful treatment, without the need to use antimicrobial therapy in multiple situations. We will remember that treatment with antimicrobial drugs is not the only therapeutic basis in septic conditions, but must, in unison, decide if necessary surgical treatment is required, drainage of abscesses or purulent collections, general and local measures (thermotherapy and antiseptic solutions) , immune and nutritional support if needed (4)