Your Smile Could Save the World!
Happy Earth Day 2022!
In the spirit of being more Earth-conscious, we are looking deeper into what we can each do to be more environmentally friendly in regards to the products we use in caring for our oral health at home. Many patients have shared concerns about the environmental toll of things like floss and interdental brushes, as well as how environmentally-friendly bamboo toothbrushes and other bamboo products actually are. I hope to put some of these concerns to rest, and provide some potential alternative dental products and habits that should reduce our environmental impact, while ensuring we continue to treat our oral health with the care it deserves!
Interdental Brushes & Flossing
Brushing your teeth with a toothbrush alone only cleans 60% of your tooth’s surface, making interproximal cleaning vital to reducing your likelihood of decay and gum disease. We promote the use of interdental brushes (such as Curaprox or Tepe brushes), or flossing, at least once daily. When selecting your dental floss/interdental brush brand, you might consider the following to ensure you are making an environmentally conscious decision:
Reuse your interdental brushes! They do not need to be disposed of after each use, and will often last for a week or two, depending on the brand you have chosen. Your interdental brush only needs to be replaced once the bristles are shown to be worn, or the brush bends or twists.
The Curaprox interdental brushes we stock only require the bristled end of the brush to be replaced, allowing the handle to be reused and reducing the amount of plastic you are throwing away each time.
Dental floss tape can now be bought in a variety of materials which are better for the planet, including corn and charcoal.
Water flossers, when used correctly, are just as effective as manual interdental brushing/flossing at removing interproximal plaque, without any waste other than the product itself (continue reading for eco-friendly solutions to the disposal of dental products) and the water it uses.
Toothpaste & Mouthwash
Though most mouthwash bottles are widely recyclable, toothpaste tubes are notoriously difficult to recycle as they are usually made up of a combination of plastic and aluminium. However, there are some solutions to this issue to ensure you are minimising your carbon footprint, whilst maintaining your oral health routine of brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste, for 2 minutes twice a day.
Dissolvable toothpaste and mouthwash tablets. The packaging these tablets come in are often recyclable in themselves, and usually a refill option is available also! When selecting your toothpaste be sure it contains 1450ppm of fluoride (500ppm is required for children younger than 2, and 1000ppm for children younger than 6, though we would not necessarily recommend toothpaste tablets for these age groups). If you have been prescribed a high fluoride toothpaste by your dentist, discuss this change with your dentist beforehand.
As mentioned before, most mouthwashes are bought in recyclable plastic containers, however if you are looking to responsibly recycle toothpaste tubes, consider Colgate’s Oral Care Free Recycling Program*
Toothbrushes
I’m sure we have all been advertised eco-friendly bamboo products, including toothbrushes, championed as eco-friendly due to the brilliant impact bamboo forests have on our environment including their ability to produce 35% more oxygen than equivalent tree mass. However, before swapping out your toothbrush, the nylon bristles of many bamboo toothbrushes can’t be recycled, even if the handle can be, and consider the distance bamboo materials travel to be made into these products. It might be worth also considering the following alternative products:
We will often recommend electric toothbrushes over manual toothbrushes as it’s much easier to achieve a thorough clean with an electric toothbrush than with manual. However, if you are concerned by the environmental impact your discarded electric toothbrushes are having, consider purchasing recyclable brush heads. Please note, often these manufacturers require you to send the heads back to them for them to be recycled as they cannot be recycled with your usual household recycling.
Similarly, the Colgate oral care products free recycling program* accepts a large variety of dental care products including electric toothbrush heads, toothpaste tubes, manual toothbrushes, floss containers, and the packaging these products come in. Drop off locations for this program are in Audlem, Northwich, and Wrexham, to name a few.
The Philips dental care free recycling program* is another program to consider, with a local drop-off in Hoole, Chester. This program also recycles electric toothbrush heads, manual toothbrushes, and floss containers, as well as interdental brushes and water flosser nozzles.
As an alternative to bamboo toothbrushes, there are several companies that create zero-waste toothbrushes from plant-based materials we can grow in the UK, that are manufactured in this country, and responsibly recycled by the manufacturer. One example is the Reswirl Toothbrush* - other brands are available!
What We are Doing at Oaklands
The dental industry, and medicine as a whole, are taking steps towards becoming more green. However, due to the necessity of single-use equipment and PPE such as gloves and barrier shields, this is a slow process. At Oaklands we are intent on progressing towards a more eco-friendly future in dentistry and have begun this journey by making the following steps:
We have done away with our paper forms and instead opted for tablets for you to complete your forms on, or for these to be done on your own devices at home. This has reduced our consumption of paper and pens, and reduced our reliance on scanners to scan your paper forms onto your records, more than making up for the need to charge these tablets every 2 days or so.
The plastic cups of mouth rinse are no longer routinely put out for use at every appointment (after which it would need to be disposed of, regardless of whether it was used or not). This is in part to reduce our plastic waste, but also benefits by reducing the spread of aerosols that are produced when you spit. You may of course request a rinse from your dental nurse or dentist if you require.
*We have no association or sponsorship with these programs and products..
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels