The effect of classical music during clinical practice on dental students’ stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of classical music exposure during clinical practice on perceived stress and coronavirus-related anxiety levels among dental students during the transition back to face-to-face education in the COVID-19 pandemic period.Methods: This prospective single-group clinical study with repeated measures included 46 systemically healthy dental students. Data were collected through face-to-face questionnaires at four different time points: baseline (T1), after patient care in the clinic (T2), before listening to music (T3), and after listening to music (T4). The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data, the Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14), and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS). Data were analyzed using paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, as appropriate.Results: Mean PSS-14 scores obtained before listening to music (T1, T2, and T3) were similar, whereas a significant decrease was observed after listening to music (T4). No statistically significant differences were found between T1 and T2 or T3 in terms of PSS-14 and CAS scores. However, PSS-14 and CAS scores at T4 were significantly lower compared with T1, T2, and T3 (p=0.004, p=0.001, p