AI Summary & Key Takeaways
AI InsightKeywords Pediatric dentistry, stress, Pedodontics Practice Stress Scale (PPSS)
📌 3 Key Takeaways
Abstract
Background:Stress among dental students can arise from multiple factors. High stress levels during clinical pediatric dentistry training may negatively impact students’ performance, confidence, and quality of patient care, making this an important issue for both education and clinical practice. To evaluate stress levels and associated factors among undergraduate dental students during pediatric dentistry clinical practice using the Pedodontics Practice Stress Scale (PPSS). Methods:This study was conducted with 272 4th- and 5th-year dental students from Bursa Uludağ University and Uşak University. Participants completed an online questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the PPSS. The groups were compared in terms of stressors. Data analysis included Independent Samples t-test or Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman correlation, and binary logistic regression (p<0.05). Results:Of the participants, 59.2% were female and 40.8% were male. Female students demonstrated significantly higher stress scores across all PPSS domains and total scores (p<0.001). Comparison by academic year revealed no significant differences in mean total stress scores (p=0.777). Students whose first choice was not dentistry reported higher complication-related (p=0.006) and total stress scores (p=0.022). Female were 3.4 times more likely to experience high stress than male (OR=3.37, 95% CI [1.56–7.28], p=0.002). All PPSS domains were positively correlated with total stress. Conclusion:In pediatric dentistry practice, factors such as gender, first career choice, child and parent behaviors, and the likelihood of complications cause varying levels of stress among students. Keywords Pediatric dentistry, stress, Pedodontics Practice Stress Scale (PPSS)