 Stewards of Good Health and a Healthy PlanetTM
The Environmental Impacts of Dentistry
Unbeknownst to most practitioners, dental processes and procedures generate significant waste and pollution. Four processes are responsible for the lion’s share of this waste: disposable infection control and sterilization methods; mercury-containing waste; conventional x-ray systems; and conventional vacuum systems. New products and technologies for cleaner, greener dental practices are emerging, allowing practitioners to eliminate or mediate much of this waste. In many cases, the eco-friendly alternative better serves patient health and saves money.
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 The most important environmental intiative for any dental office, whether or not it is a "green" practice, is to install an amalgam separator which will filter mercury-containing filling material, preventing it from entering our water supply. Even dental offices that only remove amalgam fillings need an amalgam separator. For more about the need for an amalgam separator in your practice, click here.
Eco-friendly dentistry is high-tech dentistry. Pollution-based dental processes, like conventional x-rays, create unnecessary trash and toxic chemical-waste that the dental office is left to handle and dispose of. Technologies like digital radiography, steam sterilizers, and in-office bio-waste management systems not only reduce this waste, but eliminate much of it before it is created. Find out more about how high-tech is eco-friendly.
Green dentistry is clean, comfortable, state-of-the-art dentistry that conserves time, energy and money, and uses resources appropriately for the benefit of patients, employees, and our communities. See the research about the environmental impacts of dentistry and how going green positively impacts the bottom line.
For practitioners, The Eco-Dentistry AssociationTM makes it easy to go green. Start with the GreenDOC Checklist of Standards for Green Dental Offices. The GreenDOC Product Guide is the industry's comprehensive listing of products and services for eco-friendly dentistry.
For patients, The Eco-Dentistry Association provides resources to help you find a green dentist in your area or to help “green” your current dentist. Check out our list of questions to ask your dentist to find out how green they are. And if you love your dentist, but they are not yet incorporating green methods, check out the EDA’s 2 –step "Green My Dentist" program.
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The Eco-Dentistry Association Members Pledge
As a Member of the Eco-Dentistry Association I am/we are committed to a dental profession which values both outstanding patient care and outstanding planetary care. I/we recognize that as dental professionals we make decisions every day which impact the public’s health, and the health of our Earth. As such, I/we pledge to consider the environmental impact of my/our practices in:
1. Dental processes and materials
2. Office administration and marketing
3. Office construction, design and furnishings
In making choices in these three areas I/we agree to:
- Rethink decisions and wherever possible to choose environmentally-sound options (e.g. using digital radiography, re-painting the office with non-toxic paints, installing an amalgam separator)
- Reduce the environmental impact of my/our practice (e.g. lowering energy consumption by converting light fixtures to energy-efficient fluorescents, using cloth sterilization methods)
- Reuse or re-purpose whatever I/we can (e.g. reusing lab boxes, buying washable lab coats)
- Recycle whatever I/we can (e.g. recycling office magazines, copy paper)
- I/we further pledge to:
- Demonstrate leadership by sharing “best practices” and innovations with other Eco-Dentistry Association Members
- Educate my/our team and patients about environmentally-sound practices
- Support suppliers who offer environmentally-sound products and services
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"Dentistry has always been in the forefront of preventative care. Now we are in the forefront of planetary care. "
Christine Hovliaras Delozier, RDH
Advisory Board Member of the Eco-Dentistry Association
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