environmental and perceived stress in australian dental undergraduates: preliminary outcomes

background: dental students have reported a high prevalence of psychological stress and the causes are associated with the challenging dental environmental and demographic factors. this study aimed to conduct a preliminary investigation on dental students’ stress status, using a sample of first-to-third-year bachelor of dental surgery students in an australian university. special interests included causes of dental environmental stress and access to help services. methods: a sample of 145 students was surveyed with a modified dental environmental survey and depression anxiety stress scale in 2014. the participants’ demographic information was also collected. results: the response rate was 95.4%. second years (p=0.042), third years (p<0.001) and employed students (p=0.027) were more likely to report stress resulting from transition to clinical learning. third years were more often stressed about communicating and approaching staff (p=0.023) as well as different opinions between staff (p<0.001) and reduced holidays (p<0.001). students that were younger than 21 (p=0.001), that were first years (p<0.001), and that were not in a relationship (p=0.010), more often found difficulty of course work stressful. students who were not in a relationship more often considered learning manual dexterity a source of stress (p=0.034). students previously seeking professional help were more likely to be stressed (p=0.010). conclusion: causes of dental environment stress varied among years of study and demographic backgrounds. professional support to stressed students needs to be enhanced. further investigation is indicated.