Level And Sources Of Stress In Third-year Bulgarian Dental Students

Method: One hundred third year dental medicine students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University-Plovdiv is included in this research. Stress Self-Assessment Test is used. Students are inquired voluntarily and anonymously during 8^th and 9^th week of the summer (second) semester of their preclinical study. Statistical analyses of data are made by software SPSS 13.0.

Result: More than half of the students evaluate their state during the last six months as stressful. In about 32% of them mainly the psychological health is affected because of shortage of time and impossibility of right management of engagements. This reflects on their physical health and leads to symptoms such as insomnia, difficult concentration, memory disturbances and gastrointestinal problems.

Conclusion: An intensive academic and individual students’ training during their preclinical and clinical stage of education is the key for success in the dental medicine education. Efforts in the direction of a balance between specific demands in learning and stress coping with techniques must be made. That may lead to physical and mental students’ health preservation which is a condition for successful postgraduate realization.