This prospective study examined changes in the mental health of dental students in Toulouse during the 2021–2022 academic year and the impact of optional self-hypnosis training.

The entire second-year cohort (n = 103) was included on the basis of voluntary participation. The 27 participants who completed the training and the 76 non-participants formed two groups. Data were collected using two questionnaires administered in the first and second semesters. These included measures of mental health using PHQ-9 (depression) and GAD-7 (anxiety) scores, sociodemographic information, and assessments of stress and motivation.

Overall stress decreased significantly between semesters, particularly stress related to lectures, practical work, and examinations. Overall depression and anxiety scores improved modestly. The self-hypnosis group had higher baseline scores, likely due to over-representation of women and students from the License track. Despite these quantitative findings, 68% of self-hypnosis participants reported perceived benefits and provided positive feedback on the experience.

These findings highlight the need for future research with long-term follow-up to more precisely evaluate the effectiveness of self-hypnosis and other wellbeing interventions in this demanding university course.