A scoping review exploring carbon emissions in dentistry—a step towards sustainability

Background

In the context of advancing sustainability in healthcare, in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 13 on Climate Action, there is a necessity to enhance our understanding of the carbon footprint associated with dental services to establish an environmentally conscious system. This insight could help devise strategies for policymakers, oral health practitioners, and researchers to establish more sustainable dental practices. Therefore, the present scoping review was conducted to analyse the current body of literature exploring carbon emissions generated from dental health care services with the aim of promoting sustainable dental practices.

Methods

This scoping review was conducted in line with Arksey and O’Malley’s Framework and was reported using the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic database search was conducted across four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE, to collect original research published in English up to June 2024, focusing on carbon emissions in dentistry. Review articles, letters to editors, and editorials were excluded. Selected articles underwent critical appraisal using Crowe’s Critical Appraisal Tool, followed by data charting and thematic analysis using Atlas.ti for Mac version 24.1.0.

Results

A total of 15 articles were included in this review based on the eligibility criteria. The qualitative thematic analysis of these articles revealed four main themes: sources of carbon emissions, strategies to promote sustainable dental practices, challenges for sustainability, and future research areas.

Conclusions

The review provides a comprehensive understanding of the various sources of carbon emissions associated with dental practices along with the challenges faced towards sustainable clinical practices. The key themes were explored across four hierarchical levels: structural, dental practice, dental practitioner, and method or product. The findings further guided us toward potential strategies for integrating sustainability into dental care, including stakeholder collaboration, policy reform, management practices, infrastructural improvements, and the adoption of environmentally-friendly materials. Additionally, the review highlights the need for future research to explore sustainable alternatives, conduct life cycle impact assessments, and undertake more qualitative studies to inform best practices.