Dear guest,
SmileDelightDentalSolutions is a Pure Life Certified Green practice as we use digital x-rays, mercury-free fillings and Eco-friendly infection control and sterilization/evacuation protocols.
A Gallup Poll conducted in March 2008 showed that 80% of Americans are concerned about the environment and daily adjust their purchasing and living habits to help protect it. Health professionals, dentists in particular, are in a unique position to make an impact on our planet due to the very nature of the procedures and protocols they adhere to in their work. There are over a 100 million people in the United States who deeply care about ecological consequences of various products, as well as services. It is only fitting to take a close and critical look at how dental business is conducted and make necessary changes to create a model of operation that has little or no negative impact on the environment.
Historically, the impact dentistry had on the environment was considered a necessary and unavoidable byproduct of doing business and protecting patients. It is high time to take a closer look at such practices and realize that they are outdated and dangerous. As the world population grows, we, as dentists are faced with moral and ethical dilemmas of treating it in the most environmentally benign way.
Our patients' health is intimately linked to that of our planet. We simply cannot have healthy people living on an unhealthy planet.
What are the areas in which dentistry makes the most negative impact on the planet, but can become environmentally friendlier?
X-rays:
WARNING. Some of the figures below may be shocking to you.
Every year 28 million liters of toxic fixer and 4.8 million lead foils are generated by dental practices in the USA. These fixers are made of ingredients that can produce organ damage and can detrimentally affect human respiratory and reproductive systems. Dental assistants who develop conventional x-rays do so in small poorly ventilated rooms and are at high risk for cancer. Digital x-rays, however, require sensors that capture an image of a tooth or teeth and it almost instantly shows on a computer. Aside from significant time savings, this means that for patients there is less harmful radiation (conventional x-rays require radiation three times higher than digital sensors to produce readable diagnostic images).
Infection control and sterilization:
Every year in the United States, dental offices dispose over 1.7 billion sterilization pouches, 700 million chair barriers, millions of handle covers, patient bibs and so on. All this is dumped into landfills. But this is not all. Greenhouse gases are generated during the extraction of petroleum needed to manufacture disposables used in dentistry. Instead, reusable sterilization pouches for sterilization of instruments can be successfully used. They are FDA approved, are very effective, and have been used in hospitals for over twenty years. Another benefit of reusable patient bibs and covers is that they are much more comfortable for patients than plastic ones.
Our environment isn't helped by dental offices that continue using toxic chemicals for infection control. These chemicals are what patients perceive to be the proverbial dental office smell. The majority of these chemicals contain dangerous elements, eye and upper respiratory system irritants, liver toxins and so on.
There are hospital grade disinfectants available to dentists. They are extremely effective and safe—safe for dentists, their staff, patients and the environment. They can easily replace plastic disposables.
The future of medicine and dentistry is Green. Every year, more dentists realize the importance of this movement to their patients' and their planet's well-being.
It is a justifiable investment of time, money and effort. As a result, more and more patients understand the importance of such an investment and show their appreciation by being patrons of practices that are willing to make it.
| 415-992-5160 | 490 Post Street•Suite 1528•San Francisco, CA 94102 |
| 408-266-1117 | 5460 Dellwood Way • Suite A • San Jose, CA 95118 |
| 916-802-4620 | 5908 Stanley Ave • Suite 1 • Carmichael, CA 95608 |