Evaluation of depression, anxiety, and stress levels during the internship clinical training process of dentistry students

This study aimed to evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) experienced by 4th and 5th-year dental interns at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Faculty of Dentistry, and to investigate the relationship of these psychological conditions with demographic factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 126 dental interns during the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected using self-administered survey forms, which included basic demographic information, perceived internship challenges, and their mental health status, assessed over the previous week using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The gender distribution of the 126 students in the study was 61.1% female and 38.9% male. Among the students, 55.6% identified dentistry as their first choice. The overall mean DASS-21 scores for the entire sample were Depression: 18.68 ± 11.40, Anxiety: 17.20 ± 10.19, and Stress: 20.40 ± 10.83. The prevalence of extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were found to be 29.4%, 39.7%, and 15.9%, respectively. 4th-year students (Depression: 22.20 ± 12.18; Anxiety: 21.21 ± 11.62; Stress: 23.97 ± 12.20) exhibited statistically higher DASS scores across all subscales compared to 5th-year students (Depression: 15.38 ± 10.62; Anxiety: 13.42 ± 8.64; Stress: 17.05 ± 9.37) (p < 0.05). Significant differences were also identified between mental health and sources of financial support, as well as peer relationships (p < 0.05). Positive significant correlations were found between the perceived difficulty levels during the Prosthodontics internship and DASS scores (r = 0.271-0.329, p < 0.05). Identifying effective strategies to support the mental health of dentistry students is critically important not only for safeguarding the well-being of individuals but also for enhancing the overall quality of healthcare services. Therefore, integration of structured psychological support programs into clinical dental curricula is recommended.