ArticleEuropean journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe2025
Beyond the Smile: Exploring the Mental Well-Being of Dental Students Across Institutions.
Article in European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interventions for stress, burnout, and resilience in dental and oral health students: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Mental Health Matters: A Multi-Institution Study on the Mental Health of Undergraduate Dental Students.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026Article
- Self-perception of dental aesthetics and social media influence among students at a Palestinian dental school.BDJ open · 2026Article
- When distress meets disability: social connectedness buffers functional impairment in university students.Scientific reports · 2026Article
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9 authors.
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Abstract
introductionA high frequency of mental issues has been reported amongst dental students in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore the frequency of depression, stress, and anxiety amongst undergraduate dental students in a developing country and identify factors which may contribute to the poor mental health of dental students. MATERIALS AND
methodsAfter obtaining ethical approval, undergraduate dental students from 14 dental institutions were invited to participate in an online study. Data were collected using two globally validated scales for screening mental health. The survey inventory also included two open-ended items and was administered using Google forms.
resultsComplete responses were received from 639 participants, which included 71.67% (n = 458) females and 28.33% (n = 181) males. The overall response rate was 43%. The modal age group was 18-21-year-olds (63.54%, n = 406), followed by 22-25-year-olds (35.52%, n = 227). The mean score on PHQ-9 was 10.37 (SD ± 6.13) and 48.67% of participants showed moderate to severe depression. The mean DASS-21 score was 20.81 (SD ± 14.64) and 48.21% of participants were screened positively for moderate to extremely severe depression, 49.30% for moderate to extremely severe anxiety, and 30.36% of participants showed features of moderate to extremely severe stress. Significantly positive correlations were observed for the whole sample and demographic factors for participant scores on PHQ-9 for Depression, and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scores on DASS-21. Academic workload, social interactions, personal factors, academic environment, and financial difficulties were reported as the main causes of poor mental health. DISCUSSION: This study shows a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress amongst undergraduate dental students in a country with a unique socio-cultural landscape. The study also identified underlying factors which adversely affect the mental health of dental students and provides recommendations to address these challenges.
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