Practical application and evaluation of an integrated training pathway for mental health literacy and clinical communication skills for undergraduate dental students based on simulation-based training

Objective To construct and evaluate a comprehensive training pathway based on simulated operation training to improve the mental health literacy and clinical communication skills of junior dental undergraduate students. Methods A quasi-randomized controlled pre-post mixed-methods design was used, with 60 lower-year dental students enrolled. The intervention group received 5-module training (VR scenario cognition, stress regulation, simulation integration, standardized patient communication, reflective reinforcement), while the control group received conventional teaching. Assessments were conducted at T0 (baseline), T1 (post-Module 3), T2 (post-Module 5), and T3 (1 month post-internship) using tools including DANVA-2, MHL-Q, SEGUE, JSE-HP, and CD-RISC-10. Results At T3, the intervention group showed significantly higher scores than the control group: DANVA-2 accuracy (80.7% ± 6.1% vs. 66.2% ± 6.5%, Cohen’s d = 2.31), MHL-Q (71.1 ± 4.8 vs. 60.8 ± 5.4, d = 2.05), SEGUE (80.9 ± 5.9 vs. 67.2 ± 6.0, d = 2.28), and CD-RISC-10 (28.4 ± 3.5 vs. 23.2 ± 3.7, d = 1.46) (all p < 0.05). Emotional recognition (OR = 1.12, 95%CI: 1.06–1.18) and communication effectiveness (OR = 1.15, 95%CI: 1.09–1.21) independently predicted clinical integration ability. Conclusion The simulation-based training pathway improves dental students’ MHL, CC skills, and psychological resilience, and correlates with better clinical performance, providing empirical support for dental education.