Investigation of Stress Factors and Stress Levels of Dentistry Students with Pedodontics Practice Stress Scale: A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background:Stress among dental students can arise from multiple factors. High stress levels during clinical pediatric dentistry training may negatively impact students’ performance, confidence, and quality of patient care, making this an important issue for both education and clinical practice. To evaluate stress levels and associated factors among undergraduate dental students during pediatric dentistry clinical practice using the Pedodontics Practice Stress Scale (PPSS).Methods:This study was conducted with 272 4th- and 5th-year dental students from Bursa Uludağ University and Uşak University. Participants completed an online questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the PPSS. The groups were compared in terms of stressors. Data analysis included Independent Samples t-test or Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman correlation, and binary logistic regression (p