Step 1: Create awareness in the oral care community and identify the challenges it involves
Dentistry’s impact on the environment is not clearly documented. However, it has been established that patient and staff travel account for two-thirds of the total emissions. This is valuable knowledge for the dental profession, since it demonstrates that our impact on the environment starts outside the dental practice.
Water usage is also highlighted in the consensus. Dental treatments are heavily dependent on water, from treatment to sterilisation. We should take this into account when choosing between single-use and multi-use products, since every sterilisation cycle requires water and energy, and multi-use products are not always the best solution. Bio-based single-use products might be a better and safer option for our patients, but this needs further investigation. Home care also requires water, and there is a substantial waste of water during toothbrushing and other oral home care routines.
A third challenge that is mentioned is the dental profession’s “set behaviours and attitudes”, but there is no further in-depth explanation regarding the issue in the consensus. Being a dental professional myself, I can identify with set behaviours and particular attitudes. We work in a high-stress environment, and much of the operative success depends on paying attention to detail, choosing the appropriate material and following a rigid workflow. For dental professionals, changing set behaviours could affect treatment outcomes, which we are not willing to risk.
Step 2: Identify drivers and opportunities
Drivers are motivators for change. One of the drivers for the dental profession is the desire to be portrayed as a positive influence when it comes to sustainability, that is, to be a part of the solution instead of being a waste management problem. Our commitment to preventive dentistry will eventually lower emissions by reducing operative treatment in our patients and thereby decreasing travel and material usage. Additionally, the dental profession improves the quality of life for billions of people through bringing pain relief, creating beautiful smiles and regaining function for our patients. Sustainable workspace is also high on the list for the younger generation and is a great attraction factor for recruiting valued members of staff and marketing a dental practice.
Step 3: Create a strategic action framework for specific recommendations and identify best practices
Towards the end of the consensus report, there is a strategic action framework for each of the six routes to sustainability in oral healthcare. For dental professionals, the route of the four Rs is the most relevant one, especially reduce and recycle. Reduction through prevention focuses on reducing carbon emissions through fewer appointments, which results in fewer patient journeys and thus lower environmental impact, and on reducing material, since there will be less intervention if we keep our patients healthy.
“The only side effect of preventive dentistry is its positive impact on the environment”
The consensus covers the complexity of sustainability from all possible angles. However, how should we employ it in the dental practice, and where should we start? I believe that we should go back to the basics and focus on oral home care, which is the bedrock of all dental treatment and disease control. After all, all success stories are dependent on plaque control. Oral hygiene information and instruction are a very small portion of our daily work, but can greatly impact our decisions and interventions. Therefore, there is a strong need to refresh our knowledge, starting from professional training, including ways to achieve compliance, which is considered one of the most complicated tasks in dentistry.
To post a reply please login or register