Consensus on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare A Joint Stakeholder Statement

Abstract

The Oral Healthcare community, including clinical professionals and industry, acknowledges the shared responsibility to deliver products and interventions that improve oral health in a more sustainable manner. To deliver this, the community is working in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Key to establishing this collaborative stakeholder consensus is a deep contextual understanding of the challenge. This is achieved through a comprehensive account of the levels of awareness of the environmental impacts, the challenges to resolve these impacts together with the drivers and opportunities to promote sustainable practices. This report concludes with a strategic action framework that makes specific recommendations and identifies best practice to achieve these goals. The promotion of excellent oral healthcare and the development of a circular economy are core to this strategy. Additionally, it is also important to recognise the opportunities to collaborate across the sector, and throughout supply chains, to develop and promote sustainable practices to achieve meaningful and measurable environmental outcomes in the sector. In this context, the FDI World Dental Federation convened the development of this volume, Consensus on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare: A Joint Stakeholder Statement. This consensus statement brings together a global coalition of stakeholders, representing all aspects of industry, health professionals, experts, legislative authorities and governments. The statement uses a truly collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to identify the major challenges facing oral healthcare, the complex drivers that underpin current behaviours and practices, and the best opportunities to improve and deliver sustainable oral healthcare for people and the planet. Concluding with an impactful and robust strategic action plan that crosses all boundaries, the statement identifies a series of actions and recommendations for best practice that address the sustainability issues facing the whole sector. Written by The University of Sheffield colleagues Prof Nicolas Martin, Dr Steven Mulligan, Hon. Prof Ian J Shellard and Prof Paul V Hatton, Consensus on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare: A Joint Stakeholder Statement is the result of a collaborative working partnership between the FDI-Sustainability in Dentistry Task Team and the project founding partners (Colgate-Palmolive, Dentsply Sirona, Haleon, Procter & Gamble and TePe) with the wide participation of stakeholders throughout the oral healthcare supply chain.

Nachhaltigkeit in der Zahnmedizin

“…Mit der einleitenden Feststellung "Der Klimawandel und die Umweltverschmutzung gehören zu den größten Gesundheitsbedrohungen, für den Planeten, die Menschheit und die biologische Vielfalt" beginnt das Consensus Statement zur nachhaltigen Mundgesundheit der FDI World Dental Federation, die damit im März 2022 u. a. auf die Agenda der Vereinten Nationen für Nachhaltigkeitsziele (Sustainable Development Goals, im Folgenden als SDGs abgekürzt) Bezug nimmt [1].…”

Environmental Sustainability: The Attitudes and Experiences of UK Students in the Oral Health Profession

“…There is an increasing understanding of the structure and content of 'sustainability' knowledge required at an undergraduate level 10,14,15,[18][19][20][21] . Essentially, the focus of environmental sustainability in oral healthcare, is on the delivery of a good oral healthcare strategy that considers the four domains: Effective preventive care regimes, good operative care, integrated patient care and professional ownership of care.…”

“…The whole oral healthcare community, including clinical professionals and industry, recognise that we have a responsibility to deliver products and interventions that improve oral health in an environmentally sustainable manner 10 .…”

“…These combined efforts have, to date been largely focused on the end goal, to prevent and manage oral diseases. Today, we have a further understanding, that these laudable intentions and efforts, are having the unintentional consequence of contributing to the global net rise in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions and pollution 10 .…”

Dental Solid Waste Analysis: A Scoping Review and Research Model Proposal

“…Sustainability, on the other edge, entails human activities meeting present needs without compromising the needs of future generations, achieving a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and social well-being [6]. In dental clinical practice, sustainability involves providing ethical, high-quality care using efficient materials, emitting low carbon dioxide, and producing less waste [7].…”