Sustainability in Orthodontics: what can we do to save our planet?

The sustainability of the natural resources of our planet is a topic for worldwide debate. Mankind, during its evolution as a species, has not been greatly concerned about conserving the environment in which we live. Nowadays we are reaping the fruits of this neglect. Climatic changes and storms are good examples of this. We, humans, must re-think our attitudes in order to leave the planet in a healthy state to be used by our descendants. But thinking of orthodontics, what can we do as orthodontists? From this perspective, the authors of the present study aimed, in a clear and objective manner, to present simple and sustainable ways to proceed during our activity as orthodontists, in order to minimize the effects on nature, caused by man.

Keywords:
Sustainability; Environment; Orthodontics.

Authorship

Matheus Melo Pithon

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Pós-graduação em Odontopediatria e Ortodontia (Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brasil).Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroBrazilRio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Programa de Pós-graduação em Odontopediatria e Ortodontia (Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brasil).

Lucianne Cople Maia de Faria

Orlando Motohiro Tanaka

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Programa de Pós-graduação em Odontologia com ênfase em Ortodontia e Ortopedia Facial (Curitiba/PR, Brasil).Pontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáBrazilCuritiba, PR, Brazil Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Programa de Pós-graduação em Odontologia com ênfase em Ortodontia e Ortopedia Facial (Curitiba/PR, Brasil).

Antônio Carlos de Oliveira Ruellas

Laura Salignac de Souza Guimarães Primo

Contact address: Matheus Melo Pithon Av. Otávio Santos, 395, sala 705, Centro Odontomédico Dr. Altamirando da Costa Lima, Recreio - CEP: 45.020-750 - Vitória da Conquista/BA, Brasil E-mail: matheuspithon@gmail.com

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Figures | Tables

Figures (1)
Tables (5)

Thumbnail

Figure 1
Orthodontic material packaging that will become garbage.

Thumbnail

Table 1
The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the dental office reception room

Thumbnail

Table 2
The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the rest rooms of the dental office.

Thumbnail

Table 3
The benefits arising from a sustainable practice during the process of sterilization of dental materials.

Thumbnail

Table 4
The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the dental office consulting room.

Thumbnail

Table 5
How it is done, what must be done, and the benefits arising from a sustainable orthodontic practice.

Figure 1 Orthodontic material packaging that will become garbage.

Table 1 The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the dental office reception room

How it is done	Sustainable practice	Benefit
Use of disposable cups	Use of corn starch or glass cups	Less production of solid residues
Use of incandescent or fluorescent lamps	Use of LED lamps¹²	Lower electrical power consumption up to 80%
Use of switches	Use of movement sensors in less frequently used areas.	Lower electrical power consumption
Use conventional paper for printing	Use recyclable paper	Making best use of resources
Furniture made of synthetic, non-recyclable materials	Use of furniture made of reforested wood	Lower emission of gases into the atmosphere, and these are biodegradable
Printing in normal mode	Use draft mode	50% saving of ink
Magazines and newspapers on paper or plastic	Tables with access to Internet so patients can entertain themselves before being attended to	Elimination of solid residues
Throw paper into the garbage can together with other types of materials	Throw paper away in selective trash collectors	Reduction of solid residues and possibility of recycling
Use of electronic appliances without power consumption classification	Use of electronic appliances with low energy consumption	Lower electrical power consumption
Artificial plants and ornamentation	Use real plants	Avoids the use of plastic materials and promotes transformation of CO₂ into O₂ through photosynthesis by plants
Keep the computer switched on all day	Switch off the monitor when not in use	Electricity saving
Use of tube, LCD or plasma television sets	Use LED technology television sets	Lower electrical power consumption with savings of up to 80%

Table 2 The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the rest rooms of the dental office.

How it is done	Sustainable practice	Benefit
Use of toilet paper	Use of hygienic shower with recyclable toilet paper	Less production of solid residues
Use of incandescent or fluorescent lamps	Use of LED lamps¹²	Lower electrical power consumption up to 80%
Use of conventional faucets with threaded spindle to close them.	Use faucets with automatic closing system	Water saving
Paper towel	Electric dryer for hands	Less production of solid residues
Conventional detergents	Biodegradable detergents	Lower quantity of toxic residues in water

Table 3 The benefits arising from a sustainable practice during the process of sterilization of dental materials.

What is done	Sustainable practice	Benefit
Use of chemical materials in disinfection	Use of sterilization by steam	Reduction of toxic garbage
Use of paper bibs on patients	Use of sterilizable cloth bibs	Reduction in solid residues
Sterilize only one or a few materials in an auto-clave cycle	Sterilize several materials together in one autoclave cycle	Electrical power and water saving
Use plastic bags for packing the materials to be autoclaved	Use FDA-registered reusable pouches and wraps for sterilization	Saves money and reduces solid residues

Table 4 The benefits arising from a sustainable practice in the dental office consulting room.

What is done	What can be changed	What is saved
Use of mechanical chair	Use of automatic chair with pre-programmed commands	Shorter time of movement, that is, less energy spent
Halogen light reflector	LED light reflector	Energy saving to the order of 35%
Use of disposable suction devices throughout the procedure	Use of paper cups, as this material is biodegradable, or use of suction devices made of paper	Energy saving with regard to use of the compressor for performing suction, and lower quantity of residues
Use of conventional panoramic and periapical radiographs	Use of digital radiographs	Savings of water, energy and reduction of solid residues arising from the process of development and storage of radiographs
Prefer disposable instruments and materials	Prefer reusable and sterilizable materials and instruments	Lower amount of garbage
Patients records on paper, stored in plastic folders	Digital file of all patients’ documentation	Eliminates the use of paper and plastic, as well as economy of storage space
Faucet with stop-cock for opening	Faucet with action on pedal	Saves water and reduces cross contamination

Table 5 How it is done, what must be done, and the benefits arising from a sustainable orthodontic practice.

What is done	Sustainable practice	Benefit
Orthodontic accessories sold in conventional packaging	Brackets sold in receptacles with a larger quantity of accessories, with these receptacles being manufactured of a recyclable product	Elimination of packaging made of plastic materials, being replaced with biodegradable materials (Fig 1).
Adhesive systems with acid etching	Self-etching adhesive systems¹³	Lower water consumption due to no need for washing and drying, with same clinical efficacy
Conventional brackets	Self-ligating brackets¹⁴	Less chair time and eliminates the use of elastomers
Use of non-sterilizable orthodontic archwires.	Use of orthodontic archwires capable of being sterilized¹⁵	Reduce discard of solid residues that may have been contaminated before use in the patient
Rebond new brackets when they debond during treatment	Recycle brackets by roughening their base with aluminum oxide and performing new bonding^16-18	Eliminate solid residues that would go to the trash can, making it possible for them to have a longer useful life
Light polymerization with conventional halogen or LED appliances	Ultra-rapid LED light polymerizers¹⁹	Shorter chair time and use of LED lamp with low energy consumption
Use of synthetic intermaxillary elastics	Use of elastics made of latex²⁰	Latex is extracted from a tree, consequently there is need to cultivate trees, therefore, the more widespread the use of latex, the larger the number of trees
The use of a new mini-implant in a patient who needs to replace the one in use	Sterilization and use of the same mini-implant that was removed in the same patient.²¹	Reduction of solid residues that are constituents of the mini-implant

How to cite

copy

Dental Press International Av. Luís Teixeira Mendes, 2712 , 87015-001 - Maringá - PR, Tel: (55 44) 3033-9818 - Maringá - PR - Brazil
E-mail: artigos@dentalpress.com.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

Versão para download de PDF

PDF

Inglês

Versões e tradução automática

Versão original do texto

English

Tradução automática

Google Translator
Microsoft Translator

Como citar

RIS

BIBTEX

Outros formatos de citação e exportação:

SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online
Rua Dr. Diogo de Faria, 1087 – 9º andar – Vila Clementino 04037-003 São Paulo/SP - Brasil
E-mail: scielo@scielo.org

Leia a Declaração de Acesso Aberto

Métricas