Green dentistry in 2018?

The recent pictures in the media of the plastic items which are due to be phased out before the end of the year, such as cotton buds, straws and drinks mixers, reminded me of items now prevalent in the dental surgery which are likely to come into the same category, such as disposable mirrors and disposable tweezers. And, of course, the sponge applicator/dispenser, which bears a remarkable, albeit smaller, similarity to the cotton bud (Figure 1)!

All of this took me back 20 years to a previous editorial,¹ and to a lecture that I gave 15 years back, entitled Green Dentistry? The lecture contained illustrations of the latex and plastic packaging mountain at the end of a session in the surgery: I asked myself, is there a way that the dental surgery can ever become a green environment. At that time, 20 years ago, I suggested ways that the dental practice could become greener. This included discussions on, and solutions to: