Milošević Marković, Maja (57959449200)Maja (57959449200)Milošević MarkovićLatas, Milan B. (6507748007)Milan B. (6507748007)LatasMilovanović, Srđan (25621995600)Srđan (25621995600)MilovanovićPoznanović, Sanja Totić (55545225800)Sanja Totić (55545225800)PoznanovićLazarević, Miloš M. (57188650394)Miloš M. (57188650394)LazarevićKarišik, Milica Jakšić (57917257000)Milica Jakšić (57917257000)KarišikĐorđević, Jana (57958576800)Jana (57958576800)ĐorđevićMandinić, Zoran (26321160300)Zoran (26321160300)MandinićJovanović, Svetlana (9940008300)Svetlana (9940008300)Jovanović2025-07-022025-07-022022https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114061https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85141586292&doi=10.3390%2fijerph192114061&partnerID=40&md5=b817be6aa70bebc1810de0de8535c76bhttps://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/11985Students are particularly vulnerable from the mental health aspect, which was especially recognized during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life (QoL) and mental health among dental students. The study was conducted on a sample of 797 students (207 male and 592 female) with an average age of 21.7 ± 2.4, from the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade. The measurements used in the study were the Demographic and Academic Questionnaire, Questionnaire about exposure to COVID-19, COVID-19-Impact on QoL Questionnaire (COV19-QoL), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The mean total score for COV19-QoL was 2.9 ± 0.9, while the diagnostic criteria of GAD-7 and depression met 19.9% and 31.4% of students, respectively. There was a positive and strong correlation between QoL, anxiety, and depression. During COVID-19, predictors for lower perceptions of QoL were female gender and death of close relatives (p = 0.049, p = 0.005, respectively). At the same time, predictors for GAD were female gender, living in dormitories, and death of close relatives (p = 0.019, p = 0.011, p = 0.028, respectively), while for depression they were year of study, living with parents, and death of close relatives due to COVID-19 (p = 0.012, p = 0.008, p = 0.029, respectively). The study showed that students’ QoL and mental health during the pandemic were at high risk. © 2022 by the authors.COVID-19dental environmentdental studentsgeneralized anxiety disorder (GAD)Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)public healthquality of life