While 50% of US dentists choose tooth-colored fillings in place of “silver” amalgam fillings to help patients achieve a natural looking smile, many don’t consider what happens to old amalgam fillings after they are removed. The reason for concern: amalgam fillings are 50% mercury by weight, and, according to the EPA, wildlife is imperiled by exposure to mercury, suffering effects from endocrine disruption to death. When we humans eat fish contaminated by mercury, our health suffers.
The EDA and the Green Air Project help you leave a lighter footprint
This week yielded sobering news: the carbon saturation in our atmosphere reached a staggering 400 parts per million (ppm). Until the industrial revolution a mere 200 years ago, the Earth managed just fine with carbon levels around 250 ppm.
Yes we advocate running your dental practice and your life as ecologically as possible, but even still, our actions continually add to the Earth’s carbon load. Aside from crawling under a rock and hoping for the best, what can you do?
Our tip: plant trees. That’s right, planting trees is a win-win. It’s a win for the environment because trees absorb CO2 and it’s a win for humans because trees “breathe” out oxygen. But how many of us are actually going to go out and personally do the planting? Enter the Green Air Project, a non-profit that has already planted more than 220,000 trees!
Plant just one tree a month, costing only $10 each, and the average person can offset their total carbon footprint.
Another EDA Member who has already built her dream practice in Chattanooga, TN. Great example of sustainable design in action!
A hopeful dentist decides to build it green!
We had the privilege of speaking with a dentist in the Midwest this week who, after 10 years in practice, is building her dream practice. The problem: neither her dental supplier, office designer, nor her husband is supporting her choice to build it green. But guess who is 100% excited about it? Her middle child, who at only 6 years old, has gotten the whole family committed to recycling.
Since one of the most important things we do is help dental professionals and their teams use a green lens while constructing and updating their offices, our EDA team kicked into high gear.
Below are some of the soon-to-be green doctor’s questions and our responses:
What barriers do I use if I want to avoid all that plastic?
Many things that are wrapped in plastic in the dental office are appropriate for being wiped down with an eco-friendly surface disinfectant. We love the Sci-Can, Optim 33TB. A few things, like digital imaging sensors, still need to be covered with a disposable barrier.
Should I buy an autoclave or a Statim?
This is a question of capacity. I asked whether she planned to add a hygienist immediately and whether she would be the only doctor. Because she is starting out on her own, we recommended a steam autoclave because it gives her more flexibility than a Statim, which requires instruments to be used almost immediately after processing as they are processed without wrappers.
From EDA Co-Founder, Ina Pockrass
As I was feted this Mother’s Day by my wonderful adult children and most thoughtful husband, I was struck by a twinge of sadness. Of course we should honor our Mothers, the ones who gave us life, nurtured, sacrificed and supported us, but why don’t we also honor the Earth this day? After all, without the Earth’s largesse, sacrifice and support, our Mothers, their Mothers, and all the Mothers that ever were, would not be here.
Tips from your Eco-Dentistry Team
Language plays an integral role in communicating your eco-friendly values and in how your office connects with patients. If your front office, hygiene and clinical team members (that includes you Doc!) aren’t using words that resonate with your patients, you might be missing out on opportunities that boost production and help your practice thrive.
This week’s green practice tip: learn to speak “Wellness-Lifestyle!” Read More…
Guest blog from EDA Corporate Member World Centric
We all know that toothbrushes help us keep our teeth clean… but what can we do to ensure that those same toothbrushes aren’t dirtying up our environment once we’re done with them? Enter the compostable toothbrush, a recent innovation that we are very excited about.
Did you know that every year some 450 million plastic toothbrushes are tossed out with the trash and end up in US landfills? That’s a lot of waste – and a lot of toothbrushes that could be disposed of in a responsible way, if we just had a better solution than the landfill!
Almost 10 years ago, environmental activist and dear friend Julia Butterfly Hill, gave my husband and me a gift, a tiny redwood sapling, in a humble 3 inch clay pot. It was at once an unusual gift and an understandable one: Julia spent more than 2 years living 180 feet up in an ancient redwood to focus the world’s attention on the near extinction of majestic, old growth redwoods. Less than 3% of these giants still have their roots in the ground; 97% are now backyard decks or cabinetry.
Posted in Get Involved, Letters from the EDA
We recently hosted our first #ecodentistry tweetchat in honor of Earth Day and invited Waxahachie Family Dentistry, currently going through GreenDOC Certification, to be our expert on all things green dentistry. We know Waxahachie, TX might not seem like one of the “greenest” places in the U.S., but prepare to be amazed. This practice is going to great lengths to reduce their environmental impact and run a green, wellness-based dental office.
We were blown away by the response and participation in our #ecodentistry chat (30,000 Twitter accounts reached!) and are even more thrilled about the thorough and thoughtful responses that Angie, the practice manager, at Wax Fam Dental offered. We know there’s a lot of information here, but trust us… every word is a juicy green tip.
Posted in Dental Industry, Get Involved, Green Dentistry | Tags: dentist, dentistry, eco-friendly, green, green dentist, sustainability, Texas, Waxahachie
We all know the statistics are, to say the least, sobering. Humankind is on a sure course to painful, abrupt change and we seem oblivious to it.
Here’s the question we should be asking ourselves this Earth Day: What will you say to your Grandchildren when they ask you, 25 years from now, what you did in 2012 to change this course?
Few associate the dental visit with inquiries into one’s intimate life, but new and disturbing statistics about the connection between sexually transmitted diseases and the spike in oral cancers, may change all that.
Consider these data points:
Posted in Dental Industry, Green Dentistry, Patient Education, Patients
The Green Zone 