Perceived sources of stress in Nigerian dental students

The objective of this study was to identify sources of stress among dental students at the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. A modified Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire was used to study the 137 students in years 3-6, of which 105 (76.6%) responded. Results show that the year 5 students indicated the highest level of stress overall on items relating to pre-clinical training with 21 (70%) recording aggregate DES score over the cut-off point for high stress. For clinical items, nearly all the students - 27(90%) of year 5 and 24 (100%) of year 6 recorded aggregates over the cut-off point. The most important stressors were those related to the lack of provision of a well-supported system of dental education in Nigeria in terms of availability of materials for clinical training and study materials. There were no significant differences in stress perception between genders. However, students who chose Medicine as their first choice for admission with Dentistry as an alternative experienced significantly higher overall mean and higher mean scores for most items. In conclusion, it appears there is a need to improve support for dental education in Nigeria.