Eco-concern is no longer just the domain of world leaders and environmentalists. Akash Arora discovers most industries around the globe are re-thinking the ways in which they operate. And dentistry is no exception.
Not only does going green help reduce carbon footprint, it can save your practice a lot of money, too. “A study commissioned by the [US-based] Eco-Dentistry Association (EDA) concluded that a green office can improve its bottom line by as much as $US50,000 annually, through cost savings from reusable items, energy savings, staff efficiencies and marketing advantages,” says Ina Pockrass, co-founder of EDA. Plus, going green can be an effective marketing tool. “Patients love green dental offices because there is a sense of shared values. Research shows a signi?cant consumer segment values taking care of their own personal health, and the health of the planet. And the good news is that all of these people have teeth,” adds Pockrass. According to Dr Saade Saade, who runs Eco Dental in Sydney’s Glebe, “A lot of practices in Australia are trending towards being eco-friendly these days, but there’s still room for improvement.” Built from scratch in November last year, his surgery is undoubtedly at the forefront of eco innovation in Australia. But Dr Saade insists that you don’t necessarily need to start from the ground up or make drastic changes to go green. “I have another practice, Balmain Dental Clinic, which I established about 11 years ago. I didn’t have the option to make big-picture changes to its structure, but over the years just by thinking outside the box and gradually adopting more and more green elements, I have been able to make it eco-friendly.” Don’t fret if you haven’t jumped on the eco-dental bandwagon yet. We’ve done the hard work for you by pulling together this list of 20 ways to go green. Follow all or as many as you can. Just don’t forget to mention how green you are on your website or Facebook. 20 ways to go green
1 Architecture and design. If you’re building a dental practice from scratch or structurally renovating one, try to incorporate as many skylights as possible. They let in natural light, thereby reducing power usage as well as electricity bills. “If skylights are not an option, go for large picture windows as we did when re-designing our building in 2010,” says Dr Rachel Hall of Evolve Dental Healing in Brisbane’s Kenmore. “If it’s too bright, we use sunshade blinds and if it’s too dark, we can always use internal energy-efficient bulbs with dimmer switches to get the optimal lighting.”
2 Compact fluorescent light bulbs. Not only do these use two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, they last up to 10 times longer, too. Plus, they generate up to 70 per cent less heat, making them safer to operate and reducing energy costs associated with cooling surgeries.
3 Passive infrared sensors. An effective way to save energy is to use body-heat sensors that switch off power supply in areas, such as toilets and hallways, when they’re not in use.
4 Energy-efficient air-con. While they’re more expensive to buy than conventional units, air-cons using ‘inverter’ technology consume up to 40 per cent less energy, thereby saving you money in the long run.
5 Avoid standby after dark. A central power switch can be used to turn off all devices in the practice (except for the security alarm, of course) to save energy by not leaving your equipment on standby all night.
6 Recycling bins. This is a no-brainer. It takes 95 per cent less energy to process recycled aluminium as compared to making it from scratch. The comparison is just as surprising for other common materials such as plastic (70 per cent), steel (60 per cent), paper (40 per cent) and glass (30 per cent).
7 Waste management. Not all waste is biodegradable, but contracting a commercial waste disposal company to manage it can reduce the impact on the environment.
8 Digital imaging and OPG. Digital X-rays not only have 90 per cent less radiation than conventional ones, they also eliminate the need of using toxic X-ray development chemicals and film.
9 Steam cleaning. Sterilisation of medical instruments by steam means you can avoid using harsh chemicals.
10 Copiers and printers. Reduce paper waste with double-sided copiers and printers, and make their default setting black and white.
11 E-communication. Eschew newsletters and postal reminders to patients in favour of electronic mail-outs and text messages. “It is very easy to go electronic. Any dental practice can do that. And this is not only green, but cost effective, too,” explains Dr Hall.
12 Biodegradable cleaning supplies. Opt for these instead of formulas that are harmful to the environment. Eco Dental uses CitroShield, an organic, TGA-listed surface disinfectant, which can be ordered online on citrolife.com.au. And for ultrasonic cleaning, it uses CliniMax—a non-hazardous detergent for dental applications, which comes in 100 per cent recyclable packaging.
13 Biodegradable cups. Going Green Solutions (goinggreensolutions.com.au) offers 100 per cent compostable cups. The production process of these cups emits 60 per cent less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as compared to plastic cups, so offering these to patients to rinse their mouth will substantially reduce your carbon footprint.
14 Minimise use of throw-away items. “There are a number of items that need to be discarded after a single use. For instance, when you dispense restorative materials, traditionally you use a paper mixing pad. But we don’t use a paper pad—we use a glass slab instead, which can be cleaned after every patient and be re-used,” says Dr Saade.
15 Avoid amalgam. “We use composite resin and porcelain instead of amalgam for fillings. Amalgam is metallic and it contains mercury, which is used to amalgamate the different metals. So by not using amalgam we’re preventing these metals and mercury going back into the environment,” says Dr Saade.
16 Amalgam traps. When extracting amalgam out of patients’ teeth, use amalgam traps, which can prevent it from going into the normal waste system.
17 Flooring. Eco-friendly flooring, such as porcelain tiles, is not only made of all-natural materials, it is easy to clean as well, as opposed to vinyl flooring which needs to be treated on a regular basis with chemical agents that are often not kind to the environment.
18 Eco-friendly furniture. There are pieces of furniture that are specific in their requirements and, therefore, cannot be eco-friendly, such as the dental chair. However, you can go for natural timber furniture in the waiting room.
19 LED screens. Place these behind a glass wall but facing outward to advertise your dentistry. Moving images is more compelling advertising than static signboards. Also use these in the waiting room. They are a lot more energy efficient than cheaper plasma TVs.
20 Spread the message. Let your eco-friendly ethos spread beyond your practice. Eco Dental does this by offering complimentary ‘green’ oral-hygiene kits to its patients. The kit includes toothpaste, floss and a bamboo toothbrush, all packed up in a recyclable paper bag, of course.
