ECO FRIENDLY DENTAL PRACTICE

1. Green dentistry
Go green
S N V Siva Dilip Chaitanya
IV BDS
Govt. Dental College & Hospital,
Hyd.

2. contents
• Impact of dentistry on
environment.
• What is Green Dentistry?
• Importance
• Steps to establish eco-friendly
dental practice.
• Amalgam
• Conventional radiography.
• Digital radiography
• Chemicals.
• Digital impressions.
• Designing dental office
• Waste management/

3. In the last century, the earth has warmed by 1% ,which has a significant
harmful effect on the earth’s climate.
Global
temperatures are
continuing to rise,
making 2016 the
hottest year on
the historical
record and the
third consecutive
record-breaking
year.

4. Impact of dentistry on environment
• Directly or indirectly every human being is responsible for environmental pollution
and dentistry is not an exception.
• Though individual dentists generate only small amounts of environment unfriendly
waste, the accumulated waste produced by the profession will have significant impact.
• Dentistry is responsible in contributing to pollution in many ways such as:
1. Wastage of silver amalgam .
2. Use of traditional x-ray methods.
3. Usage of disposables during patient care.
4. Office waste[energy ,water ,electric lamps ,paper ]
5. Chemical sterilization. [use of toxic chemicals]
6. Improper disposal of bio-hazardous waste.

5. What is green dentistry ??
Green dentistry is “A high-tech approach
that reduces the environmental impact of
dental practices and encompasses a
service model for dentistry that supports
and maintains wellness”.

6. • Green dentistry attempts to reduce the
industry’s detrimental impact on the
environment and promote
environmental awareness and
sustainability to patients.
• Green dentistry helps to prevent any
harmful chemicals or materials of
dental offices from polluting the
environment in turn causing “Global
warming”.
• It is a vital step in maintaining a
balanced environment.
importance

7. Steps to establish eco-friendlydental practice
• Eco friendly dentistry uses a sustainable approach to encourage
dentists to implement new strategies like introducing 4 R’s.
Rethink Reduce
Reuse Recycle
Green
dentistry

8. rethink
Rethinking the way that dental offices
are run is the initial step in trying to
change the modern practice .
We should accommodate green
dentistry in our day to day life, and
should adapt to natural life style.

9. reduce
• In order to save our planet and every people
must reduce the consumption of resources
given by the planet.
• By reducing the use of paper & disposable
products we can save large number of trees
and decrease Global warming .
• Motivating and educating the patients to
turn off the water and reduce the wastage of
water when they are brushing their teeth .
• Reducing electricity by turning off lights
and other devices after using.

10. Reuse• By reusing instead of trashing away,
resources and energy necessary to
manufacture new things are saved.
• Reusable operating room cotton towels
instead of disposable plastic or paper
patient bibs.
• Reusable stainless steel high and low
volume surgical OR endodontic suction
tips.
• Reusable glass irrigation syringes as a substitute for
disposable plastic.
• Bio-degradable cups instead of regular paper cups .

11. recycle
• By recycling we can reduce the
generation of waste being produced by
making new products.
• Recycling products is a viable way to
reduce overall contamination of the
environment.
• Use a community’s existing recycling
program to separately recycle the paper
and plastic halves of dental office waste.
• Recycling the broken or non-usable
instruments.

12. amalgam
 Mercury in amalgam is a
neurotoxin.
 Using substitutes for
amalgam.
 Mixing as much as required
by using amalgam capsules.
 Minimize amalgam discharge
 Don’t dispose waste amalgam
into garbage.
 Using amalgam separators.
 Collection of amalgam from
the drain traps & screens.

13. Conventional Radiography
• Traditional radiography uses various
chemicals and generates hazardous waste
fixers and developer solutions, they
shouldn’t be disposed in to drains.
• Because of high silver content ,fixer can be
recycled.
• Waste developer solution should be
recycled properly, as it contains toxins like
hydroquinone.
• Lead foils should never be thrown in the
regular garbage, because it is a leachable
toxin ,it should be recycled properly.

14. Digital radiography
• Switching to digital radiography as it
uses less energy than traditional
methods.
• Since the patients are exposed to 90%
less radiation with the use of digital
imaging technology.
• This also eliminates the need for toxic
x-ray chemicals.
• The new caries detection device helps
to detect a range of carious lesions,
such as occlusal , interproximal,
recurrent, and cracks using Near-
infrared transillumination technology
with high levels of accuracy.

15. chemicals
• Instead of using chemicals for Disinfection & Sterilization eco-friendly
products should be encouraged.
• Steam or dry heat may be used to sterilize dental instruments.

16. Digital impressions
Dental digital impression systems
capture intraoral scans of a patient’s
teeth and gingival tissue to generate a
3D digital model that can be used for
CAD/CAM dentistry
In this method we can reduce
environmental pollution as
there is no usage of Gypsum
products and Impression
materials.

17. Go paperless
• Office waste is usually non-hazardous waste.
Eg : Paper, card board , Aluminum, plastics etc.
• Paperless records to reduce paper consumption and
waste by using computers and latest technology.
• Using chlorine free paper products.

18. Designing dental office
• Green dental office construction with linoleum
flooring approved by LEED (leadership in
energy and environmental design) developed by
U.S green building council in 2000.
• Using ultra volatile organic compounds for
paints.
• Installing energy efficient fluorescent lights in
the clinic..
• Construction of sink pits & Rain water harvesting
plant for water conservation.
• Energy & Money can be saved by using solar panels
for electricity.
• Fully equipped with energy conserving appliances ..

19. • Digital patient charting ,scheduling and communication should be used.
• Live green plants in the operatory room ,increasing oxygenation
• Oil free compressors.
• Using LED operatory lights.
• Using eco-friendly hand sterilizers.
• Installing motion sensors to automatically turn off lights and faucets at sinks.

21. Waste management

22. challenges
• cost of initial equipment installation will be high.
• Difficulty in following 4 R’s.
• Customer awareness about green dentist.
• Marketing of green dental clinics.

23. conclusion
Dentistry is a healing
profession. Hence ,being a
part of profession responsible
for spreading smiles, It’s time
we stop overlooking
sustainability and make our
dental practice eco-friendly:
for a greener future.

24. references
• Lakshman P. Green dentistry-pollution free, ecofriendly dentistry.IDRR 2010;5:36-8.
(Indian dentist research and review).
• What exactly is green dentistry? Available from: http://www.ecodentistry.org/.
• Adams E. Eco-friendly dentistry : Not a matter of choice . J can dent assoc 2007;73:58
1-4 .
• Kinakh, V .(2015) supporting change for sustainability in dentistry. Visions for
sustainability 4: 5-12.
• Belma muhamedagic, Lejla muhamedagic, Izet masic Faculty of medicine, University of
Sarajevo,Dental office waste-Public health and ecological risk. Meteria socio media.
• Matei ruxandra, gabriela radu, andrei csep; Considerations concerning ecological
dentistry.
• Pockrass, F., & I., 2008, The fiurs ‘Rs’ of eco friendly dentistry .american dental
hydienists association, 22(8), 18-21. Retrieved January 15, 2009.

25. acknowledgements
• Dr.Prashanthi , SR, Dept. of PHD, GDC&H,
Hyderabad