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The Eco-Dentistry Association: making sure your teeth stay green
By the time you’re scheduling your next dental visit, you’ve probably given your full attention to making it look like you’ve been flossing daily for the last 6 months. But while you’re trying to clean up your act, have you ever wondered what your dentist is doing to clean up theirs?
Image courtesy of Eco-Dentistry Association
The Eco-Dentistry Association, an international organization that educates dental practitioners and patients about the benefits of green dentistry, identifies four key sources of waste in the dental practice:
- Conventional x-rays—patients recognize the dangers of radiation presented by conventional x-rays, but may not realize they generate significant waste as well. For instance, the EDA estimates US dental offices generate 28 million liters of toxic x-ray filters and 4.8 million lead foils each year. Digital x-rays, used in about 30% of US dental offices, offer patients 75-90% less radiation than conventional methods, and produce no toxic waste.
- Patient Barriers–the plastic and paper barriers covering chairs, patients, and even the dentist use a tremendous amount of energy to produce, aren’t recyclable, and are often in service in the dental practice for only an hour or less. The EDA estimates in the US 680 million of these single-use items are tossed into landfills by dental offices annually. Cloth patient barriers, used in top hospital operating rooms, are now available for dentistry. These are not only re-usable, but much more comfortable for dental patients.
- Suction Machines – the vacuum system that enables the dental assistant to “suck” fluid from your mouth during a procedure uses as much as 360 gallons of water per day. The real waste is that the water used isn’t doing anything but creating a vacuum to provide the suction. This is clean, fresh, drinkable water – 9 billion gallons of it wasted annually from US offices. Waterless “dry vacs” are the new standard for dental practices committed to reducing their environmental impact.
- Mercury waste (50% of ‘silver’ fillings are mercury). The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates 3.7 tons of mercury waste is generated by the dental industry every year. Out of approximately 120,000 dental practices across the country, 75% of those don’t dispose of mercury properly. Every dental office, whether or not the practice places amalgam fillings, should have a separator to keep this dangerous material from entering local water streams.
Green dentistry:
- Reduces waste and pollution
- Saves energy, water and money
- Uses high-tech practices
- Supports a wellness lifestyle, focusing on preventative care and lifelong dental and whole body health
So while you’re working on cleaning up your habits before that next dental appointment, take a minute to help your dental professional clean up their act, too. Check out these great patient resources from the EDA:
Want to know if your dental professional is practicing with utmost care for the health of their patients and the planet? Check out the EDA’s Questions to Ask Your Dentist.
Love your dentist but concerned about their polluting ways? The EDA’s Green My Dentist program provides a friendly letter you can send, suggesting your dentist find out more.
Sick of toxic dentistry? Find a green dentist for your family in the EDA’s member search www.ecodentistry.org.
Find the Eco-Dentistry Association on Facebook and Twitter.
The Eco-Dentistry Association™ (EDA) is an international association that provides continuing education, resources for going green, and connection to eco-friendly dental consumers. The EDA GreenDOC ProgramTM offers dental practices the opportunity to reach the highest standards of eco-friendly practice through EDA Certification.
Lead image by sxc.hu
Tags: eco-dentistry association, eco-friendly dentists, EDA, find a green dentist, green dentists, green your dentist
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