Dentistry isn’t usually the first place you look for sustainability. But maybe it should be.
The health-care sector emits more greenhouse gases than Canada’s aviation and shipping industries – and dentistry, from single-use plastics to patient travel, plays a quiet but contributing role.
At Schulich Dentistry, a meaningful shift is underway to change that.
“Environmental sustainability is a key part of delivering safe, ethical and forward-thinking care,” says registered dental hygienist Clara Torres Sierra, a 12-year clinical instructor at Schulich Dentistry.
“ Environmental sustainability is a key part of delivering safe, ethical and forward-thinking care.” — Clara Torres Sierra
Together with Sylvie Richer, MSc’15, manager of clinic operations, and the Infection Prevention and Control Committee, Torres Sierra is leading sustainability initiatives across the School’s adult and pediatric dental clinics – a portfolio that includes nearly 100 dental cubicles and 24,000 adult, child, emergency and oral surgery patient visits each year.
Each appointment sets off a familiar routine requiring sterilizers, gloves and new plastic barriers on chairs, light handles and switches. Cubicles are wiped down and reset.
Multiply that by dozens of chairs and thousands of visits, and the environmental impact becomes hard to ignore.
The remedy? A dose of creativity and a shift in student training.
Last year, the team began replacing the oversized plastic bags on each chair with small headrest covers. They’ve also eliminated unnecessary plastic coverings for some of the equipment and reduced the size of garbage bags, all while maintaining regulatory requirements and patient safety.
By the end of 2025, they expect to divert 2,200 square feet of plastic from the landfill each week.
First-year dental students also receive training on environmentally responsible cleaning practices, giving them a head start on sustainability for their future practices.
“This ensures they gain a good perspective on our responsibility as health-care providers to ensure we do our part as citizens of this planet,” says Dr. Keven Hockley, DDS’90, associate director of clinics.
Other changes are helping reduce waste even more. Reusable metal equipment, where appropriate, is being prioritized to reduce reliance on single-use materials. Advances in 3D digital imaging are also expected to phase out many physical impressions altogether.
The School’s efforts align with broader sustainability goals at Western University, which has earned high rankings for its rigorous environmental standards.
That commitment to sustainability is also shaping how dental professionals think about the materials used in everyday care.
Dr. Noha Gomaa, assistant professor and associate director of dentistry research, is investigating the continued use of dental amalgam – a mercury-containing material still used in Canada but now banned in countries like Sweden and Switzerland. Her research will explore how phasing out amalgam might affect communities at high risk for dental decay and those relying on publicly funded care.
“This work is essential to ensure that environmental progress goes hand in hand with oral health equity,” she says.
