Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is eroding decades of therapeutic progress and threatens routine care across health systems. Dentistry is a critical-yet often overlooked frontline in this crisis, with dental prescriptions comprising a substantial share of antibiotics in primary care. Persistent mis prescribing (e.g., for irreversible pulpitis, localized periapical abscesses without systemic signs, or unnecessary prophylaxis) fuels resistance and exposes patients to avoidable harms. The problem is amplified where collaboration between medicine and dentistry is weak, and stewardship education is inconsistently embedded in training. Emerging AI-enhanced educational approaches offer a promising remedy: they can simulate realistic clinical scenarios, assess decision-making, and deliver immediate, evidence-based feedback. By aligning pedagogy with practice, these tools can help reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and strengthen interprofessional stewardship.

This Research Topic aims to catalyze practical, scalable solutions that curb inappropriate antibiotic prescribing across medical and dental settings. We seek to:

• Quantify and characterize the drivers of dental and medical antibiotic overuse
• Design and evaluate AI-enabled educational frameworks that mirror real clinical decisions
• Expand effective interprofessional models that integrate physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and nurses in shared stewardship.

Priority will be given to studies that test interventions, simulation platforms, decision support modules, and curricula that provide immediate, guideline-concordant feedback and track prescribing behavior, diagnostic accuracy, and patient outcomes. We also aim to surface enablers and barriers to implementation (ethical, regulatory, technical, and organizational), and to explore how biomarkers and point-of-care diagnostics can refine indications, duration, and spectrum.

Ultimately, the goal is to produce evidence that improves confidence in managing odontogenic and medical infections without defaulting to antibiotics, while strengthening teamwork and accountability.

We welcome interdisciplinary submissions on the role of dentists in global AMR and stewardship; development, validation, and effectiveness of AI-driven educational tools; interprofessional collaboration models for infection management; integration of biomarkers/diagnostics for precision prescribing; implementation science, policy, ethics, and regulation of AI-assisted decision support; and innovative teaching strategies across undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education.

Submissions should clearly report outcomes like appropriateness, antibiotic volume, spectrum, duration, safety, costs, and describe data, algorithms, and reproducibility considerations.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

The Critical Role of Dentists in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance through AI-Enhanced Stewardship Education