engleski

The effect of waste dental metallic materials on environment

Dental medicine is a profession dedicated to promoting and enhancing oral health and well- being and therefore plays a significant role in human health. Dental practices produce many types of dental wastes, such as: heavy metals and biomedical waste, which could cause harm to the environment if it is disposed improperly. Among them, mercury, silver and lead are the most harmful for humans and the environment as well. In order to reduce the impact on the environment dentists should take all possible activities to completely avoid the production of any waste or at least try to reduce the amount of waste to a minimum. In that context, eco- friendly dentistry as a new approach to dental practice is developed. It is based on use of non-toxic products, waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention. Finally, education regarding the proper management and disposal of waste from dental offices needs more attention.

dental medicine, human health, environment, metallic materials, dental waste

Paper is categorized as Review paper