Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors (KAB), Oral Health–Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL), and Academic Stress in Clinical Dental Students

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to characterize preventive oral health behaviors, oral health-related quality of life, and academic stress among clinical-phase dental students and to evaluate how these domains interrelate among fourth- and fifth-year students in Turkey, with comparisons by gender and year of study. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional classroom census was conducted across four teaching weeks among fourth- and fifth-year students. Two hundred out of 215 eligible students returned complete questionnaires. The Hiroshima University-Dental Behavior Inventory (HU-DBI; preventive oral health behaviors), Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14; oral health quality of life), and Modified Dental Environment Stress scale (DES-M; academic and clinical stress) were self-administered. Group differences used Mann-Whitney U; associations used Spearman correlations, negative-binomial regression for OHIP-14, and robust linear regression for DES-M. RESULTS: Mean ± SD scores were 19.6 ± 3.1 (HU-DBI), 2.07 ± 2.34 (OHIP-14), and 2.49 ± 0.58 (DES-M). Females showed higher HU-DBI (p = 0.016) and higher DES-M (p = 0.002); no year effects observed (p > 0.05). HU-DBI correlated inversely with OHIP-14 (r = -0.16, p = 0.020). The most common behaviors were brushing ≥ 2/day (85%), daily flossing (81%), and mirror-checking after brushing (79%); frequent risks included hard-bristle use (30%) and smoking (28%). On OHIP-14, eating discomfort (16%) and painful aching (14%) were most endorsed; examinations and laboratory workload were the leading stressors. CONCLUSION: At the clinical phase, dental students exhibited a strong commitment to preventive care and reported minimal burdens regarding oral health-related quality of life. Nevertheless, gaps in preventive behaviors and considerable academic stress persisted, particularly among female students. Dental curricula could further support students by integrating structured resilience training and brief, personalized counseling to enhance preventive self-care and reduce stress during clinical rotations.