Narrative
International action is required to combat ABR and AMR. It is estimated that by 2050 infections resistant to drugs with be the number one cause of death globally.Wendy was lead author of FDI's World Dental Federation White Paper "The essential role of the dental team in reducing antibiotic resistance"-which provides a framework for dental teams to participate in efforts to reduce ABR. It builds on FDI’s policy statement on antibiotic stewardship in dentistry by setting out the context for the global problem of ABR and guiding the dental profession to play a part in tackling it.
Wendy was lead educator for its accompanying online training course which was in part based on her research has been accessed by over 2000 people including policy makers, dental and medical professionals, patients and members of the public across over 100 countries. In 2020, Glasgow Dental School made completion of this course mandatory for final year undergraduates. A questionnaire completed by 88 of these students indicated the online training had increased their understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) from a global perspective.
Wendy regularly lectures to dentists internationally on this subject, including at the World Dental Congress 2021 and in 2021 will talk for the International Association of Dental Students, Hong Kong Dental Association, Indian Dental Association and various for the British Dental Association.
In 2021, Wendy co-developed an Antibiotic Stewardship Tool for Dentistry: Shared Decision-Making for Adults with Toothache or Infection, a paper based worksheet entitled 'Step-by-step guide to fixing your toothache' for use at point of care aiming to encourage behaviour change. Further evaluation is necessary to evaluate it's efficacy.
The World Health Organisation are working to reduce inappropriate antibiotic consumption. Wendy contributed to the dental chapter of WHO's new AWaRE antibiotic book, published in December 2022. It aims to provide evidence based, actionable guidance for antibiotic use in the most common clinical infections in both primary health care and hospital settings.
In 2023, Wendy's MRC Applied Global Health Grant was successful for delivering dental antimicrobial stewardship in Ghana and Uganda. It got onto contract in 2024 and ethical approval for data collection was received in 2025.
In 2024, Wendy became co-lead of the UKRI Transdisciplinary PEOPLE Network on AMR. She represented FDI World Dental Federation at the UN General Assembly's High Level Meeting on AMR (Stakeholder Panel 2 - ......) in New York. She also chaired a side meeting on AMR at the WHO's first ever Global Oral Health Meeting in Bangkok.
In 2025, Wendy is lead author of IADR's position statement on AMR and of a commentary about AMR in the Journal of Dental Research.
Impact date | 2020 |
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Category of impact | Health and wellbeing |
Impact level | Benefit |
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Sustainable Futures
- Policy@Manchester
Documents & Links
Related content
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Activities
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PEOPLE AMR Transdisciplinary Network (External organisation)
Activity: Membership › Membership of network › Research
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FDI Webinar: Bridging gaps in dental antimicrobial stewardship: From research to real-world application
Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation › Research
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THET ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2024
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Participating in a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
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IADR Barcelona
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Organising a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
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Policy@Manchester (Journal)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work › Research
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WHO global oral health meeting
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Participating in a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
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Caldwell Memorial Lecture "Using antibiotics sustainably"
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Teaching and Research
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Antibiotics are supposed to help, aren't they?
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Teaching and Research
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British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Spring Conference 2025
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Participating in a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
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Tackling AMR in a Changing World: What next after the UN High-Level Meeting?
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
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Research output
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Development and randomized controlled trial of an animated film aimed at reducing behaviours for acquiring antibiotics
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A systematic review of dental antibiotic stewardship interventions
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Systemic antibiotics for symptomatic apical periodontitis and acute apical abscess in adults
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Co-developing an antibiotic stewardship tool for dentistry: shared decision-making for adults with toothache or infection.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Clinician- and patient-factors influencing treatment decisions: Ethnographic study of antibiotic prescribing and operative procedures in out-of-hours and general dental practices
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Press/Media