Evaluation of stress resulting from endodontic therapy stages among endodontists and post-graduate and under-graduate dental students: A preliminary study

Introduction: Dentistry, in particular root canal therapy, is associated with a high level of occupational stress. This research was carried out with the aim of studying the level of occupational stress among endodontists and post-graduate and under-graduate dental students. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive survey the subjects consisted of endodontists (n = 36) and post-graduate (n = 41) and under-graduate (n = 47) dental students, selected using accessible sampling technique. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on occupational stress during root canal treatment in ten domains. Data were analyzed using one-sample t-test. Results: The results showed that endodontists had stress levels lower than the average (t = -4.83 to  t = -15.48, p value < 0.001) in nine domains of endodontic therapy, with average levels of stress in miscellaneous treatment modalities (t = -0.47, p value = 0.64). Post-graduate students exhibited stress levels lower than the average in ten domains of endodontic therapy (t = -2.18 to t = 18.69,  p value < 0.001) and under-graduate dental students exhibited stress levels lower than the average in nine domains of endodontic therapy (t = -15.83 to t = 3.93, p value < 0.001) except for stress of working on maxillary and mandibular molars and access cavity preparation in special cases (t = 0.16, p value = 0.87). Conclusion: Job stress of endodontists and post-graduate and under-graduate dental students in the majority of domains are lower than the average; however, the stress of endodontists in some domains such as miscellaneous treatment modalities, and post-graduate and under-graduate dental students in injection and miscellaneous treatment modalities should be considered.   Key words: Post-graduate dental students, Root canal therapy, Stress, Under-graduate dental students