Profile of brazilian dental students and its relationship to anxiety levels

The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of dental students and its relationship to anxiety levels. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was applied to 207 first- to fifth-year undergraduates enrolled in the dentistry program at the School of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. Participants were aged 17 to 29 years, and the maiority were women (57.5%). Students had a weekly workload of up to 40 hours and performed at least two complementary activities, in addition to their undergraduate training. Almost all students (95.7%) had attended private high schools and 80.6% lived with their parents or spouses. Regarding parental education, 59.4% of mothers and 55.6% of fathers had a higher education degree. Most students showed medium levels of anxiety according to measurements of state anxiety (53.1%) and trait anxiety (81.6%). It can be concluded that more than 50% of students in the Dentistry graduation course of the Federal University of Ceará showed an average level of anxiety, and that the excessive workload and enrichment activities necessary to obtain the undergraduate degree in Dentistry probably can be influencing the anxiety levels of students, however, more studies and statistical tests should be performed to identify the root causes in order to preserve the mental health of these future dentists.