Dental students as operators: emotional reactions.

The importance of the personality of the dentist in the dental treatment of the anxious patient has been recognized for some time. However, there has been little research into the emotional reactions of dental students in similar stressful situations. This investigation, using specific psychological tests, examined the emotional reactions of clinical dental students (n = 99) not only as operators but also as patients. The data were analysed on the basis of normative values for the psychological tests compared with those values obtained by the dental students. This analysis was repeated on a sex-differentiated basis and on the basis of high and low state anxiety scores. The results suggest that emotions present in dental students may interact with those of the patient and lead to unwanted repercussions.