The environmental consequences of oral healthcare provision by the dental team

This data supports the publication in the Journal of Dentistry, January 2024.Article Title: The environmental consequences of oral healthcare provision by the dental teamObjectivesTo undertake a comparative ecological impact (Total lifetime carbon footprint and single use plastics (SUP) waste generation) derived from the provision of professional oral healthcare (Dentists and hygienist) to five different patient categories up to the age of 50 years, representative of different levels of progressive dental disease and treatment experience.MethodCO₂e and SUP waste generated was calculated for five patient categories with common preventable diseases; that are representative of different levels of progressive dental disease and treatment experience. The assessment is based on the average restorative care levels for 50-year-olds in the UK. The number of appointments for each procedure was calculated using current evidence-based guidelines. The total lifetime carbon and the SUP waste analysis was calculated using published peer-reviewed data.ResultsThe total carbon footprint follows a progression with low impacts for individual persons with very low disease and treatment experience (285 KgCO₂e), escalating to very high impacts (approximately 2,170 KgCO₂e) for people with high levels of disease and treatment experience. SUP waste follows a similar linear rise across the different cohorts of dental experience over a lifetime (6-50 years), from 1382 items and 4.6 Kg for patients in a the very low dental experience, to 12,200 items and 33.8Kg for patients in the cohort of very high dental experience.ConclusionsThe provision of all oral healthcare carries an environmental impact in the form of carbon footprint and SUP waste. The cumulative lifetime environmental impact of oral healthcare is proportional to the disease and treatment experience of the individual person for these preventable diseases; with a x8 difference between the two extremes of experience.Clinical SignificanceAll forms of oral healthcare have an environmental impact.The most effective way to mitigate these impacts is through the promotion and provision of effective evidence-based preventive oral healthcare.

本数据为2024年1月发表于《牙科杂志》（Journal of Dentistry）的研究提供支持。文章标题：牙科团队提供口腔医疗服务的环境影响

研究目标：针对5个不同患者群体（代表不同程度的渐进性牙科疾病及治疗经历），评估其在50岁前接受专业口腔医疗服务（牙医及卫生员提供）所产生的生态影响对比，包括终身碳足迹总量及一次性塑料（single use plastics, SUP）废弃物生成量。

研究方法：针对5个患有常见可预防疾病的患者群体（代表不同程度的渐进性牙科疾病及治疗经历），计算其产生的二氧化碳当量（CO₂e）及一次性塑料（SUP）废弃物。评估基于英国50岁人群的平均修复治疗水平，各诊疗项目的就诊次数依据当前循证指南计算，终身碳足迹总量及一次性塑料废弃物分析则采用已发表的同行评审数据。

研究结果：终身碳足迹总量呈梯度变化——疾病及治疗经历极少的个体影响较低（285千克二氧化碳当量），而疾病及治疗经历丰富的个体影响极高（约2170千克二氧化碳当量）。在6至50岁的终身周期内，不同牙科经历群体的一次性塑料废弃物亦呈类似线性增长趋势：牙科经历极少的患者产生1382件、4.6千克废弃物，而牙科经历极丰富的患者则产生12200件、33.8千克废弃物。

研究结论：所有口腔医疗服务均会通过碳足迹及一次性塑料废弃物产生环境影响。对于这些可预防疾病而言，口腔医疗服务的终身累积环境影响与个体的疾病及治疗经历成正比，且两个极端经历群体间的差异达8倍。

临床意义：所有形式的口腔医疗服务均存在环境影响。减轻这些影响最有效的方式是推广并提供基于循证的有效预防性口腔医疗服务。