Stewards of Good Health and a Healthy Planet!^TM

Green Your Smile in Seven Days!
A Week of Tips for Eco-Friendly Dental Patients

Sometimes we overlook the simple day-to-day ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint and live an eco-friendly lifestyle. Dental care is a daily opportunity to commit to personal and planetary health. And your choice of dental professional can influence the dental industry to prioritize cleaner, greener solutions. Here are seven days of tips for greening your smile!

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 doesn’t 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. Sign the pledge to Save 90 A Day!

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. Search for an EDA member in your area, or download a list of Questions to Ask Your Dentist.

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, go to the “Green My Dentist” page. You can 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 5000 pieces of paper and 5000 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. Find out more about the environmental impacts of dentistry.

Day 6:

Go Digital! Ask your dental office if they offer digital x-rays. Digital x-rays offer have 75-90% 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 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.