With World Environment Day on 5 Jun 2023 approaching, Dentsply Sirona aims to better support dental professionals in their journey towards more sustainable dental practices with a free-of-charge dentistry resource kit that contains resources to guide dental professionals, informing them about actions they can take in their practices and labs.
Further, three-quarters of dentists from a global study conducted by the group believe there is a knowledge gap regarding sustainability in dentistry. More than 1,300 dentists from the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America participiated in the study last year. The sustainability in dentistry resource kit, aimed at helping facilitate dental professionals’ journey toward developing a more sustainable practice, consists of three parts.
First, it explains what sustainability means for dentistry, including why and how dental professionals can have an impact. Dentsply Sirona has developed a sustainability educational curriculum, as part of its clinical educational programme, called DS Academy. Continuing Education credits are available for each completed course. The courses are led by experienced dentists and sustainability experts.
Next, it is an interactive toolkit that offers more environmentally-friendly dental practices. As a co-founder of FDI World Dental Federation sustainability in dentistry initiative, Dentsply Sirona has designed an interactive toolkit to give examples for dental professionals to reduce the environmental footprint. Once registered, dental professionals can earn recognition awards for their practice by taking on an active role in making dentistry more sustainable.
Lastly, as another result of its FDI partnership, a pledge for sustainable dentistry has been published to invite dental professionals to show their support. By signing, dental professionals express their commitment to reducing negative environmental impacts.
In addition, the FDI World Dental Federation virtual summit will take place on World Environment Day. The summit delivers case studies, ideas, and research projects dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of dentistry. Attendees can also look forward to a virtual display of poster abstracts and a bursary fund for participants from low-income countries.
