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Eco-Friendly Dentistry: The Responsibility We All Share For Sustainability

Eco-Friendly Dentistry: The Responsibility We All Share For Sustainability
by Tobias Roberts

The other day, I walked into my dentist´s office and next to all of the diploma´s and credentials framed on the wall, there was a large plaque announcing that my dentist was certified as an eco-friendly practice. At first I thought this was nothing more than a bit of business green washing, trying to convince the progressive minded patient that there was an added incentive to take your money to this particular clinic.

During recent trips to the grocery store, the signs of “gluten-free” yogurt and potato chips that don´t rely on animal cruelty are similar green washing campaigns. Corporate publicity specialists obviously understand that a sizeable chunk of consumers in North America are willing to spend a little bit more money for products and services that are supposedly ethical, sustainable, and eco-friendly. Though no yogurt should have gluten in it and, since last time I checked, most potato chips don´t include animal products, making these explicit claims might very well help certain companies lure the conscientious consumer.

So what was it about my dentist that made his practice “eco-friendly” and any different from the rest? As I pondered this while my mouth was stretched wide open for the larger part of an hour, I noticed that the room had LED light bulbs and many of the electronics were certified as ENERGY STAR for their efficiency. I figured that my dentist got that eco-friendly certification by simply changing a few light bulbs in order to try and gain the competitive edge towards clients, like myself, whose brains automatically gravitated towards anything that promised to be eco-friendly.

The Standards of Eco-Friendly Dentistry

By the time my dentist filling in two small cavities, I stretched my jaw back into place and decided to ask him what standards he had to adhere to in order to be credentialed an eco-friendly dentistry practice. To my surprise, he handed me a pamphlet that he had printed containing detailed information on what eco-friendly practices truly entailed.

While there were considerations on energy efficiency within the buildings, there were several other aspects that I had never considered before.

The actual dentist office was 100% free of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBT) that often combine to make up that “hospital” smell. I noticed that the smell of the dentist´s office was much more like that of my own home and not like that of a hospital waiting room.

Eco-friendly certified dentistry practices also commit to 100% paperless billing and client communication. I remembered that I had never received any piece of mail correspondence from my dentist, leading to one less envelope making its way to the trash bin.

Read full article on Huffington Post.