Well-Being and General Anxiety Among University of Michigan Dental Students

Abstract

BackgroundAnxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions, affecting approximately 1 in 9 people worldwide. More specifically, dental students have been considered vulnerable to anxiety despite the fact that dental students have also reported high levels of well-being. Therefore, we hypothesize that University of Michigan School of Dentistry (UMSOD) dental students pose high levels of well-being but suffer from anxiety. Our objective is to measure anxiety and well-being levels among UMSOD dental students for 2 consecutive academic years.MethodsDental students (N = 609) were surveyed for well-being and general anxiety levels. To assess well-being and anxiety levels we used the World Health Organization–Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) questionnaire and the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Surveys were sent through Qualtrics. For statistical analysis, chi-square and t test were used at p < 0.05.ResultsThe mean well-being score among dental students was 12.26 (SD = 1.14). In the first survey moment for anxiety, which coincided with the week before the spring break in 2017, approximately 39% of the respondents (n = 255) scored 10 or higher on the GAD-7, which means moderate anxiety. In the second survey moment, the week after the spring break week in 2017, we found a slight but not significant reduction in anxiety levels, with approximately 32% of the responses (n = 109) of the dental students scoring 10 or higher on the GAD-7. Incoming first-year dental students before starting the dental school program presented well-being mean of 18 (SD = 0.60). Only 13% of incoming first-year dental students scored 10 or higher on anxiety before starting the school program. By the fall term, the well-being mean among incoming first-year dental students dropped to 13.29 (SD = 1.32), and 22% of the incoming first-year dental students scored 10 or higher in the GAD-7.ConclusionsUniversity of Michigan School of Dentistry dental students posed poor well-being and moderate anxiety. Incoming first-year dental students posed higher well-being and lower anxiety levels before starting the dental education program. However, as the academic year developed, incoming first-year dental students suffered a decrease in well-being and an increase in anxiety levels. Our study indicates a trend of poor well-being and high anxiety among UMSOD dental students.