Background and Objectives: Anxiety in dental settings can hinder both treatment delivery and educational experiences. For students in training, fear of specific procedures, particularly local anesthesia, may persist despite progressive clinical exposure. Evidence on this issue among Romanian dental students is scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, intensity, and main procedural triggers of dental anxiety among Romanian dental students, with a specific focus on experiences related to local anesthesia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2024 on 122 fourth-year students (79 females, 43 males) enrolled at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iași, Romania. Participants completed the validated Romanian version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and answered additional items on demographic factors, prior exposure to local anesthesia, perceived complications, and procedures most likely to trigger anxiety. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and t-tests. Results: Overall, 21.3% of respondents scored in the low anxiety range, 75.4% in the moderate range, and 3.3% in the severe range (MDAS ≥19). No significant gender differences were identified (p 0.05). Injections with local anesthetic were rated as the most distressing procedure (mean 2.29 ± 1.02), followed by drilling, whereas scaling was reported as least stressful. The majority (86.9%) had undergone previous local anesthesia, with very few adverse events recalled. Conclusions: The findings show that Romanian dental students experience mostly moderate levels of anxiety, with local anesthesia injections remaining the dominant trigger. The lack of gender differences points to a potential buffering effect of clinical exposure. These results support the inclusion of structured anxiety management within dental education and provide context-specific data for comparison with international cohorts.
Bologa et al. (Thu,) studied this question.