The Vulnerability of Dental Students:
A Student Perspective on Stress, Regulation and Loss During COVID-19
Alexander D. DeGenova, DDS, MS SPEA President 2021-2022, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry.
Introduction It is common knowledge that dentistry is a stressful occupation. Managing demanding patients, management of an office, compliance with continuing education, adherence to legal regulation, and comprehensive care of patients; to name a few stressors, is no easy task. Dentistry has always attracted independent, self-driven, entrepreneurial individuals. It should be no surprise then that stress among dental students has long been the subject of interest by researchers world–wide. COVID-19 has subjected dentistry to a range of challenges, adding to existing burdens and responsibilities in a significant and novel way.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented difficulties, the likes of which the United States has never seen before, further complicating an already stressful time in the life of US dental students and recent graduates. These obstacles have taken a toll on physical and mental health, as well as quality of dental education. Yet, there is much that can be done to surmount these obstacles. These hardships should be viewed as an opportunity to review, recover, regenerate and remember. This opinion paper addresses some of the many issues faced by students and faculty throughout these last two years. There are also many day- to-day stressors; such as balancing school, personal life, and the occasional tragedy, all of which compound upon Journal of the American College of Dentists
stress derived from the worldwide pandemic. Things such as school building failures, storms, issues within families, maintaining relationships, and personal injury can contribute to feelings of despair, or sentiment that current demands placed on students. 26
