Dentaltown May 2015 - (Page 70)

do good section Green Dentistry How to Make Your Practice Environmentally Sound by Ina Pockrass We've all seen images of polar bears balancing on retreating sea ice, biodiverse rain forests reduced to barren land, and mountains of trash clogging our oceans, but what does this have to do with your dental practice? The good news is that there are many concrete steps you and your team can take to lighten your environmental footprint right now, and it's easier than you might think. Remember, you don't have to do it all. Start where you are and do something. Reducing waste and pollution Complying with regulations may be a dentist's least favorite thing, but eliminating toxic waste and pollutants can make compliance easier and make the office more environmentally sound. Consider indoor air quality, for instance. Your patients are in your office for an hour or two every six months, but you and your team are there every day: what you're breathing matters. Therefore, switch to a surface disinfectant that is nontoxic for the dental team. Take a moment in your next staff meeting to review the material-safety data sheet for your surface disinfectant and you might be surprised to learn that some brands can cause skin burns and irreversible eye damage, and shouldn't be inhaled. There is an array of other easily implemented options to make the office greener. The following suggestions can all help. 1. Bring in living plants and you'll be adding nature's air purifiers. Great examples include garden mums, spider plants and dracaena. Go to http://greatist.com/connect/ houseplants-that-clean-air for more ideas. 2. Recycle or donate old hand instruments instead of trashing them (sterilized, of course). Repurpose your 70 MAY 2015 // dentaltown.com No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. " - Max Lucado old instruments through Paradise Dental Technologies' Earthcare Program. Once reconditioned, many of these instruments will find new life at nonprofit organizations around the world; the rest will be recycled. An added bonus: you'll receive a free PDT curette or scaler for every 12 instruments you send. Go to http://pdtdental.com/ earthcare/ for more information. 3. You can clean water lines with nontoxic enzymatic cleaners rather than chlorine or bleach-based cleaners (which can release mercury vapors into your office). 4. Just say no to magazines and fliers if they go unread in your practice. Check out Ecocycle.org/junkmail to request that your office stop receiving junk mail and useless phone books. http://www.pdtdental.com/ http://www.greatist.com/connect/houseplants-that-clean-air http://www.greatist.com/connect/houseplants-that-clean-air http://www.Ecocycle.org/junkmail http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2015

On Dentaltown.com
Howard Speaks: Keeping and Attracting Patients: It's All About Relationships
Professional Courtesy: The Future on Display
Continuing Education Update
Poll
Real-World Questions for Lanap/Periolase Users
Industry News
New Products
Inflammation: A Hygiene Perspective
Working Together: How Dentists and Labs Can Find a Great Fit
Special-Needs Patients and OR And Any Solutions for Special-Needs Patients with Acid Reflux?
Product Profi le: The Scheduling Institute
Weathering a Cash-Flow Drought: Tips for Keeping Your Business in the Green
Do Good: Smiles Across the Miles
Do Good: Doing Good in the Dominican
Do Good: Making a Big Difference for Little Ones
Do Good: Helping Kids Smile, One X-Ray at a Time
Do Good: A Day With the Tooth Fairy
Do Good: Green Dentistry: How to Make Your Practice Environmentally Sound
Do Good: Dental Hygienist Do Global Good With America's Toothfairy
Do Good: Spear's Open Wide Foundation: Dental Philanthropy For Life
Do Good: How a Seed of Generosity Helped a Clinic Grow
Do Good: Dental Philanthropic Focus Puts Kids and Families First
CE: When Technology Meets Biology
Ad Index
Tricks and Techniques for Class II Compsites in Primary Molars
Product Profi le: Opt-In
Product Profi le: BISCO
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown May 2015