Sustainable dentistry: A systematic review of evidence-based practices, challenges, and solutions
Prathibha PRASAD, Al Moutassem Billah KHAIR, Maya HADDAD, Shawqi AMER, Mohamed KHALED, Mustafa ZAINI, Abdulla HASSAN
Abstract. Background: Sustainable dentistry addresses the environmental impact of oral healthcare by integrating eco-friendly practices into clinical care. Dental services contribute significantly to healthcare-related carbon emissions and waste, needing systematic approaches for sustainable practice. Objective: This systematic review synthesizes evidence-based strategies, identifies challenges, and proposes actionable solutions for implementing sustainable dentistry practices, focusing on general dental clinics and the broader dental industry. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for articles published between 2000 and 2025. Keywords included “sustainable dentistry,” “green dentistry,” “eco-friendly dental practices,” and “dental waste management.” Both qualitative and quantitative studies were included, focusing on clinical sustainability interventions, excluding non-clinical and non-English publications. Results: Key sustainable measures found include digital radiography to reduce hazardous chemicals, the use of non-toxic restorative materials, effective biomedical waste segregation, and energy-efficient clinic designs. Despite growing awareness, adoption is still limited due to barriers such as lack of practitioner education, unclear regulatory frameworks, cost constraints, and dependency on disposable products. Conclusions: Advancing sustainable dentistry requires integrating circular economy principles, policy support, interdisciplinary collaboration, and patient engagement. Adding sustainability components to dental education and clinical guidelines can enhance care quality, reduce environmental harm, and lower operational costs. Future research should prioritize real-world implementation studies, especially in low-resource settings, to develop practical, long-term, and context-specific solutions.
Keywords
Biomedical Waste, Circular Economy, Dental Waste, Green Dentistry, Eco-Friendly Materials, Policy Framework, Recycling, Sustainable Development, Waste Management
Published online 6/20/2026, 11 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Prathibha PRASAD, Al Moutassem Billah KHAIR, Maya HADDAD, Shawqi AMER, Mohamed KHALED, Mustafa ZAINI, Abdulla HASSAN, Sustainable dentistry: A systematic review of evidence-based practices, challenges, and solutions, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 67, pp 889-899, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904176-121
The article was published as article 121 of the book Climate Action and Sustainability
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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