Earth-friendly dental tips
Tucson Green Times – August 2009
The Eco-Dentistry Association™ (EDA), an international association of dental professionals who encourage eco-friendly practices, gives these tips for a week of earth-friendly dental care. Remember, it only takes 20 days to create a new habit.
Day 1: Choose clean green tooth care products. Your home care routine (brushing, flossing, rinsing), works in conjunction with a professional teeth cleaning program to manage bacteria levels in your mouth. But certain brands of products contain chemicals that can upset the oral pH balance and lead to canker sores or other problems. Pick a paste that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, and make sure your mouth rinse is alcohol-free.
Day 2: Turn off the Tap! Did you know the average person wastes approximately 90 glasses of water every day by leaving the tap running while they brush their teeth? That means in the United States alone, we’re literally pouring down the drain 27 billion glasses of clean, drinkable water every day, just brushing our teeth.
Day 3: Find a dental practice you love. Dentistry is a healing profession. It’s important to have a satisfying relationship with your dental wellness team, and to know they share your values for wellness of people and planet.
Day 4: Already love your dentist? If you’ve got a dentist you love, but don’t love all the plastic and paper waste you see in the practice, visit www.ecodentistry.org and click on “Green My Dentist.” You can download and print a letter to your dentist with compelling reasons to incorporate simple, cost-saving green methods into their business.
Day 5: Paper or Plastic? Neither. Ask for cloth. Ask your dentist to use cloth products such as patient bibs rather than paper or plastic. Studies show that using cloth sterilization methods diverts nearly 5,000 pieces of paper and 5,000 pieces of plastic from the average dental practice in just one year. Using fabric patient “bibs” instead of 2-ply paper, 1-ply plastic bibs diverts 10,200 pieces of paper and 5,100 pieces of plastic from landfill annually.
Day 6: Go Digital! Ask your dental office if they offer digital x-rays. Digital x-rays offer have 75-90 percent less radiation than the traditional ones while eliminating the need for toxic x-ray fixer solutions and lead foils.
Day 7: Get Informed! Many dentists go the extra mile to protect the health of people and the planet. Amalgam separators keep toxic dental materials from entering the water stream, but aren’t required in every state; digital radiography replaces the outdated traditional x-rays, decreasing patient exposure to radiation, and eliminating waste and pollution. Find more ways that hi-tech and green dentistry are helping both people and planet, and download a list of questions to ask your dental practitioner at www.ecodentistry.org.
Source: www.ecodentistry.org
