Objectives: This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the self-reported stress levels of a cohort of clinical dental students from various conservative dentistry procedures and to identify stress-provoking factors.  

Materials and Methods: An online survey-based prospective cohort study was conducted following a cohort of 83 clinical dental students from Jordan University of Science and Technology. Data collection took place at two measurement points 12 months apart, in the fourth and fifth year of study. The survey collected socio-demographic data, contained 7-point Likert stress level scale questions of 6 conservative dentistry procedures (Class I - V and RCT), and YES/NO questions about stress-provoking factors. Wilcoxon signed rank and McNemar tests and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate and describe the differences in stress levels between the distinctive characteristics of students  

Results: we found significant differences in the reported stress levels between students, in their fourth and fifth years, in every procedure (p= < .001) except for the Root Canal Treatment (RCT) procedure. RCT procedure had the highest reported mean stress levels. Students with distinguished GPAs reported the highest reported stress levels. Females reported higher mean stress levels in every procedure in the fourth year. The most agreed-upon stress-provoking factor was the availability/quality of dental materials.  

Conclusion: As students advance through the clinical years, their stress levels from conservative dentistry procedures decrease. Through this study, attention will be directed to the procedures that stress students the most, consequently giving more time or sessions for practicing to ease these procedures and get the best dental treatment outcomes from them with the least amount of stress.