Green Dentist

What is “green,” or biocompatible dentistry?

At Artwork Dental, this is the type of dentistry we practice. This is a term you may not be familiar with: it refers to us not putting compounds into your mouth or into your teeth that could be unhealthy for you. It also refers to not polluting the environment.

For example, the old silver amalgam fillings contained mercury, one of the most toxic substances in nature. You may have silver amalgam fillings in your mouth now. Over time, these compounds can release toxic substances that can damage your overall health.

Today, we replace those fillings and their potentially dangerous materials with natural-looking, bio-compatible composite or, in the case of a crown, a ceramic. These look like your natural teeth, are completely safe, and represent a permanent solution for your oral care.

In addition, green dentistry refers to not polluting the environment. For example, we use digital x-rays our office. Not only do they make taking necessary x-rays easier and faster, they create neither harsh chemical byproducts nor paper / plastic waste. There’s nothing toxic to dump into the environment. Besides, they cut down the amount of radiation you’re exposed to by about 80%.

Since we also keep almost all of our case notes and x-rays stored in digital files, we use the minimum amount of paper we can in the office. We hope to be completely paperless soon—we’re still working on it.