EDA member and 2014 Green Dentistry Conference speaker, Dr. Charles Cuprill , DMD shares his insights on his green dental practice, and amalgam waste.
Tell me a little about yourself, and your dental practice.
My name is Charles Cuprill and I am a general dental implant dentist in Orlando, Florida. When I left a corporate practice to open my own, Orlando Dental & Implant Studio, I knew I wanted to become as green as possible. My wife really opened my eyes to sustainability, but I took the baton and ran with it. My goal was to make my 2,400 sq foot dental office as green as possible. I worked with LEED contractors to purchase no VOC paint, cork flooring, quartz counters and FSC certified cabinetry. We focused on decreasing the office’s power and waste. I worked with my dental representative to find the greenest products including products that are biodegradable and environmentally safe. After I attended the Eco-Dentistry Association’s Green Dentistry Conference I was even more inspired!
What has been the most unexpected benefit of having a green dental office?
The most unexpected benefit of having a green office is the crazy satisfaction! I get a kick out of knowing that I have an amalgam separator in my mechanical closet and that toxic material isn’t entering our water supply. My office only generates 3 to 4 bags of garbage a week, as opposed to 3 or 4 bags a day.
What green initiative are you most proud of?
I am proud of my amalgam separator, because it was a decision I consciously made. It’s not required in the state of Florida, but it is so important, I think it should be. I feel so strongly, I created a Change.org petition to get separators to be required in the state of Florida.
Dr. Cuprill’s journey to install an amalgam separator will be one of the subjects covered in the program “Amalgam: Science, Safety and the Environment” at the 2014 Green Dentistry Conference, held at the Sundance Resort on October 17th and 18th 2014.
Dr. Charles Cuprill, DMD is a general implant dentist in Orlando, Florida. Over the past five years he has been incorporating green dental initiatives that reduce waste and overall consumption at his practice Orlando Dental & Implant Studio .
The Green Zone 
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