3 Reasons to Choose an Eco-Friendly Dentist

Did you know that you can help protect the environment by choosing the right dentist? A dentist that practices eco-dentistry is committed to delivering dental treatments using technologies, techniques and materials that promote environmental health. This is also referred to as “green dentistry” and involves utilizing innovations that maximize efficiency for patients while also minimizing waste and pollution for the environment. Eco-friendly dentistry offers benefits for everyone!

Benefits of Green Dentistry

You may be surprised to learn that there are several ways that a dentist can protect the environment, ranging from the way they take x-rays and how they dispose of waste to the materials they use to restore a tooth and much more.

Here are three key reasons to choose an eco-friendly dental practice:

#1 Less Radiation. Better Diagnostics.

Eco-friendly dentists use digital imaging, which can drastically reduce the amount of harmful chemical released in the environment while also emitting less radiation to the patient. In fact, digital radiography produces up to 90% less radiation compared to traditional x-ray film. Beyond the improved safety of digital x-rays, it can also provide a better quality image, which results in better diagnostics and more effective treatments.

#2 Minimize Chemical Contamination and Cleaner Air.
Green dental practices also use high-quality, biodegradable disinfectants and steam in their sterilization methods, which eliminates the presence of toxic chemical vapors that would need proper ventilation. Many green dental offices have an air and water purification system as well to promote a fresh, clean and healthy experience.

#3 Metal-Free and Natural-looking Restorations.

Eco-dentistry embraces restorative dentistry materials and adhesives that not only look natural, but are also free of metal. Compared to amalgam (or silver) fillings, an eco-friendly dentist will offer tooth-colored composite. Composite contains no metal, and it bonds directly to the tooth. Therefore, there is less healthy tooth structure removed in preparing for the filling. With eco-friendly materials, patients are not exposed to mercury and heavy metal waste is eliminated from the environment and main water supply.

Schedule Your Visit at a Green Dental Office Today!

Going to the dentist doesn’t have to mean hurting the environment. Discover the benefits of an eco-friendly dental practice at Green Dental of Alexandria. We have proudly invested in many eco-friendly systems including a dry vacuum system, digital x-rays, a dental laser, green dental imaging, an air and water purification system and a green infection control system. For your safety, we do not offer any dental restorations containing mercury, and we use amalgam separators and chair-side filters to facilitate the safe removal of old amalgam fillings.