18 Jul Thackeray Dental Care is Going Green!
What do we do already to help?
Digital X-rays
These are used with low levels of radiation to capture image’s of your teeth and bone levels, which is then sent directly to the computer. It is the safest form of radiography available. They are more eco-friendly as there are no chemicals involved in the process and produce around 90% less radiation than the traditional x-rays. Therefore the release of radiation into the environment is reduced down to almost nothing.
Paper
We are currently using paperless charting, which allows us to store patient records digitally. We are also using Wi-Fi pads to complete medical histories, GDPR forms, treatment plans, NHS children’s forms and more!
Also in surgery we have transferred to paper tray liners instead of plastic ones, which reduces the amount of plastic we are using.
Amalgam separator
We currently have a filling material separator in each of our surgeries which removes amalgam waste particles from the waste water. In having this installed we are handling and disposing of amalgam waste the correct way. Did you know 1 gram of mercury can contaminate up to 100,000 litres of drinking water!
Autoclavable suction tips
An Autoclave is a machine that is used to remove bio hazardous waste from the surface of the instrument’s and tools we use. They sterilise through physical means by using pressure, temperature and steam.
We currently use auto-clavable suction tips – we carry out the decontamination process and send these through our autoclaves, which allows them to become sterilised and ready for reuse. By using these it means we have cut down on the amount of plastic we use!
Recycle
We recycle all of our cardboard, paper and packaging, we have a separate bins in our practice to help!
What we are currently working on
We are currently looking at all our supplies and seeing if we can find eco-friendly alternatives, so keep an eye out for our eco-friendly toothbrushes, interdental brushes and more! We are also looking at ways to reduce out plastic waste by replacing plastic cups with paper cups, or lab plastic bags with reusable plastic tubs for our lab work!
- Health care for orphaned orang-utans
- A nurturing loving environment
- Enrichment and stimulation to develop skills
- Nutritious and healthy food
- Bedding and play materials
- Medical and veterinarian care
- Forest school training and skills
- Resources for orangutan rescues, releases and habitat protection
What we are going to do in the near future
On average all 17 members of staff travels 43,000 miles per year. This is equivalent to around 23.6 tonnes of CO a year. It would take 118 trees to offset the amount of CO2 produced by us. In helping to reduce this we can think about car sharing, those of us that live near each other can take in turns to drive to reduce the amount of emissions we are putting into the air. We can also consider walking, using public transport, cycling or running!
We are looking at the products we use to clean the practice and switching to organic and pareben free products to reduce the chemicals we use.
We are looking at Envirodent instrument recycling program – they will collect old or unwanted instruments of any brand. Ship instruments to their recyclers for responsible disposal. Acquire brand new Hu-friendly instruments of our choice for participation. For any 12 instruments we recycle we get 1 instrument free!
We are looking at a digital impression scanner, as the silicone impressions we use sits in landfill for thousands of years. The scanners are very expensive but we could save on lab bills, paper tickets and appointments for patients may be able to be done on the same day!
LED bulbs – they last longer and are more efficient, they use less power and we have to change them less frequently, eventually we will have all LED bulbs.
We want to be almost paperless; we are looking at doing digital invoices, receipts and lab tickets! If you want emailed receipts or treatment plans please ask, all we need is your email!
For more information on the measures Thackeray Dental Care in Mansfield are taking to “go green” please give us a call on 01623 629359.
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