Assessment of Physical Stress and Burnout among Undergraduate Dental Students in Goa State: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Dental students undergo physical stress during their period of study which may lead to burnout and mental illnesses. The aim of this study was to identify stressors and burnout levels between preclinical and clinical dental students using the Dental Environmental Stress Questionnaire (DES) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Methods: The study sample was classified into two groups. Group A consisted of students in the preclinical study period (n=64), while group B consisted of students in the clinical study period (n=44). The students were provided with an online questionnaire (Google form) that consisted of three parts (demographic data, DES and MBI). The data obtained from the Google forms were collected and assessed using the chi square and Mann Whitney U tests. The differences with regard to gender distribution, daily travel duration, article studies, or involvement in recreational physical activities, were found to be insignificant between the groups. Group B students were more affected by factors as per DES and MBI, resulting in stress and burnout. Results: The differences in EE (emotional exhaustion) were found to be statistically significant (p = 0.002) as the years progressed. However, no significant differences were found for DP (depersonalization) and PA (personal accomplishment) across the study years. It was observed that DES increased progressively over the years. The differences between EE, DP, PA and DES, when compared between group A and B students, were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: It was concluded that physical stress and burnout of dental undergraduate students increased as students progressed from a non-clinical to a clinical curriculum.