Background: Dentistry and nursing students experience significant anxiety, negatively impacting their well-being and academic performance. Objectives: This study aims to assess the prevalence and relationships of stress, anxiety, depression, resilience, hope, and spiritual well-being among dentistry and nursing students, identify demographic influences and propose strategies to enhance resilience and well-being. Methods: This study surveyed 271 students attending Greece’s departments of dentistry and nursing at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, using an electronic questionnaire aimed to assess stress, anxiety, and depression (depression, anxiety, stress scale—DASS-21); resilience (resilience assessment questionnaire—RAQ8, brief resilience scale—BRS); hope (adult hope scale—AHS); and spiritual well-being (functional assessment of chronic illness therapy–spiritual well-being scale—FACIT-Sp-12). The survey also collected demographic data to identify factors influencing these variables. Statistical analyses, including hierarchical multiple linear regression and t-tests, were performed to analyze the relationships between variables. Results: The sample included 145 dentistry and 126 nursing students, with 68.6% female and 80.1% undergraduate. Half of the students reported mild or higher levels of stress (48.7%), anxiety (51.3%), and depression (53.5%). The prevalence of depression was the highest in our sample, followed by anxiety and stress. Higher family wealth was associated with reduced stress levels, while female undergraduate students reported higher levels of anxiety than their male counterparts. Hope was a strong predictor of resilience, but stress and worry had a negative correlation. Conclusions: Promoting students’ well-being and academic success requires effective stress-reduction and resilience-building techniques to improve students’ performance and support future healthcare professionals’ personal sustainability and holistic growth.

Background: Infection control is fundamental in dental practice, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the variability in students’ adherence to disinfection protocols. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the fifth-year dental students at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens regarding antisepsis and infection control, and to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention. Methods: A pre-post interventional study was conducted involving two in-person seminars, supplementary e-learning material, and a structured questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. The survey assessed the knowledge, clinical practices, and attitudes toward infection control, including vaccination history and prior exposure incidents. Results: The intervention led to statistically significant improvements in infection control knowledge, especially in risk-based sterilization strategies, disinfectant classification, and PPE use. Students with prior hepatitis B vaccinations and antibody testing demonstrated higher baseline scores and more significant knowledge gains. However, some misconceptions, particularly regarding surface disinfection and prosthetic care, persisted after the intervention. Conclusions: The findings support the effectiveness of structured educational interventions in improving infection control awareness among dental students. Practical, simulation-based training and earlier curriculum integration are recommended to enhance compliance and ensure safe clinical practice.

Background: Infection control is fundamental in dental practice, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted the variability in students’ adherence to disinfection protocols. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 4th- and 5th-year dental students at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens regarding antisepsis and infection control, and to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention. Methods: A pre-post interventional study was conducted involving two in-person seminars, supplementary e-learning materials, and a structured questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. The survey assessed knowledge, clinical practices, and attitudes toward infection control, including vaccination history and prior exposure incidents. Results: The intervention led to statistically significant improvements in infection control knowledge, especially in risk-based sterilization strategies, disinfectant classification, and PPE use. Students with prior hepatitis B vaccination and antibody testing demonstrated higher baseline scores and more significant knowledge gains. However, some misconceptions, particularly regarding surface disinfection and prosthetic care, persisted after the intervention. Conclusions: The findings support the effectiveness of structured educational interventions in improving infection control awareness among dental students. Practical, simulation-based training and earlier curriculum integration are recommended to enhance compliance and ensure safe clinical practice.

Students studying dentistry and nursing experience anxiety daily, which affects both their general well-being and academic achievement. Anxiety is exacerbated by several circumstances, such as stressors in one's personal life, clinical environment exposure, and academic expectations. To effectively regulate anxiety and support students' achievement, treatments that take these elements into account must be designed. In this study, 271 students from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece's departments of dentistry and nursing were polled. Being the following resources, participants filled out an electronic questionnaire that was uploaded to Google Forms and assessed their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, resilience, hope, and spiritual well-being: a) the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), b) the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-12), c) the Adult Hope Scale (AHS), d) the Resilience Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ8), and e) the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Additionally, demographic data was gathered, such as gender, educational attainment, family income, and country of origin. Statistical analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between the variables, including hierarchical multiple linear regression and t-tests. The sample consisted of 271 students from the Department of Nursing (n=126, 46.5%) and Dentistry (n=145, 53.5%), with 68.60% of them being female, 80.10% being undergraduate students, and 48.30% being from Athens, the country's capital. Comparatively speaking, 74.50 percent of nursing students were female, while 62.80% of dental students were. Compared to dental students (2.10%), nurses (40.50%) participated in postgraduate studies at a higher rate. Compared to dental students (44.80%), nursing students reported a household income of just 13.90%, which is much less than €35,000. Anxiety was reported by 51.30% of participants overall, with dental students reporting higher anxiety than nursing students. Higher family wealth was associated with reduced stress levels, while female undergraduate students reported higher levels of anxiety than their male counterparts. Hope was a strong predictor of resilience, but stress and worry had a negative correlation. Promoting students' well-being and academic success requires effective stress-reduction and resilience-building techniques aimed to not only improve student performance but also support future healthcare professionals' personal sustainability and holistic growth.