Özet:

Objectives:The social dentistry approach includes not only solving the problems of patients, as in the biomedical model, but also investigating the causes of their problems. It is crucial to have a thorough understanding of the patients, to have empathy for them, to consider the anxiety they will experience, and to be enlightening during treatment. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the dental anxiety (DA) and empathy levels of students at various levels of clinical education. Materials and Methods:A questionnaire form was created using a digital platform. The questionnaire tool used in the research consists of three parts: 1.Questions about sociodemographic data; 2.The Dental Anxiety and Fear Index (IDAF-4C+) Turkish version; and 3.The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-S version. Results: 510 dentistry students were included in the study. There was no difference between the DA levels of the clinician, observer, and preclinical student groups(p=0.765). However, there was a significant difference between empathy scores(p<0.001) and the lowest mean empathy scores were found in the clinician student group. No correlation was found between DA and the empathy scores of students(rho=0.026, p=0.557). Conclusion:There is no significant difference between the DA levels of students at various stages of undergraduate education. This may be an indication that the theoretical, practical, and clinical education of dentistry is not effective in inducing or reducing students' DA levels. In addition,it can be thought that the decrease in empathy levels in the clinician student group may be related to the difficulty of dental clinical education, the intense workload, and the stress induced by clinical responsibilities.