Comparing the environmental impact of reusable and disposable dental examination kits: a life cycle assessment approach.

Autor: Byrne D; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland. david.byrne@dental.tcd.ie., Saget S; Department of Botany, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland., Davidson A; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Haneef H; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Abdeldaim T; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Almudahkah A; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Basquille N; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Bergin AM; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Prida J; Final Year Dental Science Student, Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland., Lyne A; University College London, Eastman Dental Institute, Rockefeller Building, 21 University Street, London, WC1E 6DE, UK., Duane B; Division of Public and Child Dental Health, Dublin University Dental Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Lincoln Place, Dublin, Ireland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: British dental journal [Br Dent J] 2022 Aug; Vol. 233 (4), pp. 317-325. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Aug 26.
DOI: 10.1038/s41415-022-4912-4
Abstrakt: Introduction The global climate crisis has increased the emphasis placed on the sustainability and environmental consequences of our actions. The dental examination accounts for a large portion of dentistry's carbon footprint, more specifically, the production, sterilisation, transport, use and disposal of the dental examination kit. An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the impact of a reusable stainless-steel examination kit and that of a disposable plastic examination kit.Materials and methods All inputs, outputs and processes across the life cycle were accounted for using Ecoinvent database v3.7.1 and openLCA software. Impacts were considered across 16 European-recommended environmental impact categories and eight human health impact categories.Results The disposable kit performed worse across all categories of ecological and human health harm. Categories with most notable impact were climate change, metal-mineral and fossil fuel resource depletion and water scarcity. Impacts were primarily attributable to material processing, instrument production and sterilisation procedures.Conclusion Healthcare is responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The single-use examination kit poses greater ecological and human health threat than does the reusable examination kit; this aligns closely with related research in the field. The dentist seeking to adopt more environmentally-conscientious practices should consider using a reusable, stainless-steel examination kit.
(© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the British Dental Association.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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