Perceived Stress of Dental Students

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the perceived stress of dental students at a South African medical facility. Data on stress levels in a dental school environment were collected from eighty eight students in their clinical years of study, using the Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire (Acharya, 2003). Fifty six per cent of participants were female and the majority (94%) were Black. The data were descriptively analysed. Results indicated that male students, final year students, those with dentistry as their first career choice and single status students reported less stress than other cohorts. Students in less intensive clinical tracks also reported relatively less stress than peers in other training placements.