Exploring stressors in paediatric dentistry clinical training among Polish and international dental students at the Medical University of Lodz

Providing dental treatment to children during clinical training appears challenging for undergraduate students. Various factors, including overall perceived stress (PS) and studying abroad, may affect the way students interpret stressful situations. To gain deeper insights into these issues, an anonymous online questionnaire, consisting of a 5-point scale of stress level related to paediatric dentistry training, questions regarding its sources, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), was sent via e-mail to 4th- and 5th-year students. A total of 115 students (40 out of 50 enrolled in the English-taught dentistry program and 75 out of 248 Polish students) completed the survey. Polish students showed a statistically higher mean PSS-14 score compared to their foreign counterparts (34.11 vs. 27.58, p < 0.001). The mean rating of stress linked to clinical training did not differ significantly between international and Polish students, and for both groups, it correlated with the PS level. Endodontic treatment and local anaesthesia were identified as the most stress-inducing procedures. From a given list of potential stressors, Polish students ranked the child's attitude as the top stressor, followed by the supervisor's attitude, whereas international students ranked them inversely. Only 30% of international and 22.6% of Polish students expressed interest in choosing paediatric dentistry as their speciality after graduation. Supervisors should be aware of stressors inherent to clinical training and differences in stress perception between international and native students in order to mitigate the effects of stress and enhance students' motivation for future practice of paediatric dentistry.