Clindamycin Under Scrutiny:
What Every Dental Clinician Should Know
Mastering Post-Op Care: Infection Free Fast Healing
Free dental continuing education course hosted by Dental CE Academy
Live interactive and On Demand Dental CE Webinar
Scroll below for course description and schedule of upcoming dates
TITLE: Clindamycin Under Scrutiny: What Every Dental Clinician Should Know
COURSE FEE: Complimentary Access
CREDITS: This continuing education activity is designated for 1 credit
DURATION: 60 minutes
AGD PACE SUBJECT CODE: 134 Prescription Medication Management
CE SUPPORTER: None
MODE: Electronically Mediated | Live Interactive Webinar
SPEAKER: Dr. Kirsten Roling, DDS
AUDIENCE: Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Dental Therapists, Dental Assistants
TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED: Mobile device, laptop or desktop with internet connection | Google Chrome Browser
INSTRUCTIONS: Dental CE Academy hosts all webinars using the ClickMeeting platform. Upon registration you are sent a confirmation email from no-reply@clickeeting.com with a link to join. Be sure to check your spam/junk/promotions folders. We recommend logging in 15 minutes early in the event you require assistance.
HANDOUTS: Distributed via email to all attendees 1 hour prior to start, during and after the webinar.
QUIZ FOR CE CREDIT VERIFICATION: At the conclusion of the webinar, attendees will be redirected to complete a quiz for CE credit. An 80% minimum passing score is required, multiple attempts are permitted, and attendees have 7 days to successfully complete the quiz for CE credit.
COURSE SUMMARY: For decades, clindamycin held a prominent place in dental practice, particularly for patients reporting a penicillin allergy and for the management and prevention of odontogenic infections. But evolving evidence regarding antimicrobial stewardship, adverse drug events, Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection, and appropriate antibiotic selection has dramatically changed how clinicians should view this once-familiar dental standby.
​
This evidence-based continuing education course examines the history of clindamycin—from its development and pharmacology to its widespread adoption in medicine and dentistry—and explores the science that ultimately led to major changes in clinical recommendations. Participants will review clindamycin's composition, mechanism of action, antimicrobial spectrum, indications, and historical uses in dental practice, while examining its potential for serious adverse effects, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea and C. difficile infection.
​
Special attention will be given to the evidence behind the decision to no longer recommend clindamycin as an alternative for certain patients with penicillin allergy. The course will distinguish between situations in which clindamycin has fallen out of favor and circumstances in which it may still have a legitimate clinical role.
​
Through the lens of antibiotic stewardship and current evidence, dental professionals will leave with a clearer understanding of how recommendations changed, why they changed, and how thoughtful antibiotic selection can reduce preventable patient harm while supporting responsible antimicrobial prescribing.
​
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
-
Describe the history and pharmacology of clindamycin, including its development, mechanism of action, antimicrobial spectrum, and introduction into dental practice.
-
Identify the historical and contemporary dental indications for clindamycin and differentiate appropriate therapeutic use from routine or unnecessary antibiotic prescribing.
-
Explain the adverse-effect profile associated with clindamycin, with particular emphasis on antibiotic-associated diarrhea, disruption of the intestinal microbiome, and Clostridioides difficile infection.
-
Discuss the evidence and evolving professional recommendations that led to clindamycin falling out of favor for certain dental indications, including changes involving antibiotic prophylaxis for patients reporting penicillin allergy.
-
Compare clindamycin with alternative antibiotic options based on clinical indication, patient history, allergy status, antimicrobial spectrum, safety, and principles of antibiotic stewardship.
-
Apply current evidence and antimicrobial stewardship principles to dental prescribing decisions to minimize unnecessary antibiotic exposure, reduce adverse events, and promote safer patient care.
Dr. Kirsten Roling, DDS
Chief Education Officer, Dental CE Academy
Public Health Dentist, Phoenix, Arizona
Asst. Clinical Professor
#CdiffSurvivor
Dr. Kirsten Roling, DDS, serves as the Chief Education Officer for Dental CE Academy, which is administered by Virtual Dontics® Education LLC. She completed her dental training at the University of California, San Francisco, during the critical period of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Prior to her achievement as a dentist she was a Registered Dental Assistant and dental practice management consultant. As a public health dentist, Dr. Roling is recognized as an early pioneer of Teledentistry, formerly in clinical practice that encompassed both pediatrics and geriatrics. Her previous roles include Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF and Public Health Preceptor at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health. Additionally, she served as Chief of the Office of Oral Health for Maricopa County's Department of Public Health, where she managed the nation's largest pediatric oral health prevention programs within the third largest public health department in the U.S. As a mobile dental provider, she led a significant teledentistry practice focused on treating homebound geriatric patients and is a recipient of the Pediatric Oral Health Access Program scholarship. She is published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry: "Temporal association of implementation of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) with changes in dental-related emergency department visits in Maricopa County from 2006 to 2012" and a featured guest on NPR, National Public Radio: "Quality Oral Care A Concern For Older Arizona Adults In Long-Term Care."
In 2022, Dr. Roling became infected with a Clostridium difficile infection that followed a periodontal procedure. After a lengthy battle and a clinical trial that saved her life - she is now a national speaker on this life-threatening disease and advocates antibiotic stewardship as well as appropriate infection control measures in the dental practice.
DISCLOSURE OF SPEAKER AND FACULTY COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS: According to Dental CE Academy's Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Policy, faculty and speakers for any course are expected to disclose any economic support, personal interests, or potential bias that may be perceived as creating a conflict related to the material being presented. Disclosure statements are printed in each course description and announced by moderators or individual speakers at the beginning of each presentation. This policy is intended to alert the audience to any potential bias or conflict so that participants may form their own judgments about the material being presented.
​
CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: This course is not sponsored. The speaker, Dr. Kirsten Roling is the Chief Education Officer and employee of Dental CE Academy. She has not received an honorarium for this presentation. For written documentation you may contact support@dentalcenow.com.
DENTAL CE ACADEMY DISCLOSURE: The views expressed and opinions and materials presented during these live and recorded presentations represent the personal views and opinions of the individual speaker and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Dental CE Academy. Dental CE Academy assumes no responsibility for the content of the presentations made by the individual speakers. Any suggested protocols for treatment, materials, or services may be based up on the speakers' own clinican experience and should not be construed as Dental CE Academy recommended or endorsed. Selected presentations may include exploratory research or experimental procedures and are intended for informational purposes that may lead to new interest and scientific breakthroughs in the fields of dentistry. Dental CE Academy appreciates its educators who share their knowledge and expertise. This level of dedication to dentistry allows our profession to expand and thrive and provokes necessary discussion and understanding.
