All in all, an average of 20 grams of plastic is used per patient. And what happens to this material in most cases? It ends its useful life in a waste bin with the rest of the rubbish and without being properly separated for recycling.
This does not end here: this same process is carried out with more than 10 patients a day in the dental clinic every day of the week... Imagine this amount of plastic used daily in all the dental clinics around the world. That's tons of plastic a year!
How does plastic used in dentistry affect the environment?
The unrecycled plastic from dental clinics is one of the most hazardous wastes due to its significant environmental impact. There are several negative consequences of this material. Below, we will tell you about its serious impact on the planet.
High environmental pollution due to its slow degradability
The excessive use of plastic has caused high pollution on land, in the air and at sea:
- Land: when plastic accumulates in the soil, toxic substances are released, which will alter its properties and then seep into the subsoil, affecting groundwater and soil nutrients.
- Sea: perhaps one of the most visible and notorious harms of the impact of plastic on the environment. Many seas and oceans have now become giant dumping grounds, endangering the lives of many marine animals and putting them at risk of entanglement or suffocation. In addition, highly polluting substances such as bisphenol A are released, causing the death of many sea-dwelling species.
- Air: air pollution occurs during the manufacture and burning of plastic. These are undoubtedly the two main sources of air pollution. The release of toxins is very dangerous for the environment and health.
In addition, plastic waste takes in many cases more than 400 years to decompose, which takes a heavy toll on ecosystems.
Global warming and climate change
Global warming generates an increase in the average temperature of the planet, causing notable climate change in the long term.
What are the consequences of climate change? Rising sea levels due to melting ice, more extreme and intense weather events, extinction of species, longer periods of drought and desertification, water and food shortages and an increase in tropical diseases of species. These are just some of the most relevant causes of global warming and, consequently, of climate change.
Emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
These gases absorb and emit heat, increasing the temperature of the atmosphere. This is where the carbon footprint comes into play.
A carbon footprint is defined as the total and aggregate emissions of gases resulting from a specific action or activity. Therefore, in the dental clinic we must reduce our CO2 emissions as much as possible, saving as much energy as possible to keep the carbon footprint to a minimum.
VIDEO: Plastic's impact on the environment
How to be more sustainable in the dental practice?
After exposing you above all the negative consequences that the plastic used in the dental clinic has on the environment, it is necessary that you become aware of its misuse and management and recognise which plastics are recyclable and which are not. It is also important that you learn about other gestures apart from plastic that help to make your clinic a more sustainable place.
It's time to get involved! We are going to help you by showing you what actions in your dental clinic will contribute to improve environmental sustainability and to be more responsible and respectful with the planet.
Reducing the consumption of plastic
- Do not use single-use plastics and replace them with other materials that can be reused or are biodegradable.
- Use toothbrushes made from sustainable materials that do not contain plastic. Did you know that 1% of plastic waste in the sea is toothbrushes? That's an alarming figure for sure. These materials take more than 400 years to decompose. A good option is to start using environmentally friendly bamboo toothbrushes.
- Say "no" to plastic packaging. Ask suppliers and manufacturers for materials with less packaging and, if possible, recyclable packaging. If this is not possible, it is highly recommended to opt for more environmentally friendly suppliers.
- Separate plastic waste for later recycling, e.g. water bottles, packaging, cleaning product bottles and containers or even their caps.
- Opt for suppliers that erase their plastic footprint. In other words, suppliers that achieve a zero plastic footprint.
Cups or cannulas are a clear example of the most commonly used single-use plastics in the dental practice. We have the solution! You can use eco-friendly paper cups or reusable metal and plastic cannulas.
Promote recycling
Recycling is synonymous with environmental sustainability. In the dental clinic it is not easy but you can start by reusing and recycling aluminium, glass, plastic, paper and steel.
Water and energy savings
For water saving you can install water diffusers on your taps to save as much water as possible, or install automatic sensor taps.
On the other hand, to save energy you can choose to install low consumption technologies (LED), insulate windows and doors and turn off all lights and electrical equipment when not in use. These small gestures will help our environment!
Reduce the use of paper
Digitising management and documents will help you to greatly reduce unnecessary paper consumption. In addition, switching to digital communication between staff and patients is a big step towards saying goodbye to paper in this case.
If on the one hand you prefer to keep the use of paper in some cases, you can use recycled and environmentally friendly paper which has great advantages: saving energy and water, reducing the greenhouse effect and avoiding deforestation of forests.
At Dentaltix we have brands of ecological dental products such as VIDU (first Plastic Neutral brand in the world), Naturbrush or Euronda with a wide range of more sustainable products and also products where the manufacturers care about environmentally friendly manufacturing and transportation and support green initiatives.
View Ecological Dental Products!
Surprised? It's important to think about how to steer your dental practice towards a more sustainable path with our ecosystems. As you have seen, the dental sector has a great impact on the environment and we all need to do our bit and contribute to more sustainable and ecological solutions.
For more news from the dental sector, visit and follow us on our social networks! You will always be able to keep up to date with the latest news. We hope this blog will help you to become aware of how important it is to have a better habit in the dental clinic and if you have any questions we will be happy to help you. See you next time!
