Introduction: Well-being issues are increasing amongst dental students. Social relationships can be important for student support during their studies. The aim of the study was to explore dental students' feelings towards studying dentistry, social networks and chosen support during this journey.
Materials and methods: An anonymous electronic cross-sectional survey was carried out. All dental students in a single dental school were invited to participate. Participation and answering questions was voluntary. Descriptive analyses were used for categorical data, and qualitative data were analysed thematically.
Results: In total, 109 students responded. One third reported having a family member from a healthcare profession but most were not related to dental professionals. The majority of students 83% liked the course, 14% said they felt "neutral", and 5% said they did not like it. The following three themes explained this: (a) demands of the course, (b) being suited to dentistry (eg patient care) and (c) passion for dentistry as a career (or lack of). Most felt their peers were friendly (92%) and supportive (78%) but also competitive (64%). Irrespective of stress, 70% of participants sought help from family and two thirds sought help from student peers.
Discussion: Most students enjoy studying dentistry despite the demands of the course. Support, workload, feeling suited to the course and a passion for dentistry as a career can affect the experience.
Conclusions: Family and friends are an important source of support in this process. Further work is needed to explore mechanisms to help family and friends support students.
Keywords: dental student; family; friends; stress.
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