ArticleBritish dental journal2019
Environmental sustainability and travel within the dental practice.
Article in British dental journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Teledentistry for Improving Access To, and Quality of Oral Health Care: Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Environmental sustainability in dental education in Jordan: a cross-sectional survey of dental students and educators.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Environmental Impact of a Tooth Extraction: Life Cycle Analysis in a University Hospital Setting.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2026Article
- Environmental Impact of Orthodontics: A Literature Review of Traditional Multibracket Appliances and Clear Aligners.International journal of dentistry · 2026Review
- Are tomorrow's dentists ready for a sustainable future? Insights from a European student survey.Frontiers in dental medicine · 2026Article
- A scoping review exploring carbon emissions in dentistry-a step towards sustainability.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Sustainable Dental and Periodontal Practice: A Narrative Review on the 4R-Framework-Reduce, Reuse, Rethink, Recycle-And Waste Management Rationalization.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Is Sustainability Part of the Drill? Examining Knowledge and Awareness Among Dental Students in Bucharest, Romania.Dentistry journal · 2025Article
- Carbon footprint of private dental clinics in Egypt: a cross-sectional study.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Green Dentistry: State of the Art and Possible Development Proposals.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Exploring attitudes towards more sustainable dentistry among adults living in the UK.British dental journal · 2022Article
- The environmental impact of community caries prevention - part 1: fluoride varnish application.British dental journal · 2022Article
- Discussing the environmental impact of dental-associated travel - how do we build from the current COVID-19 crisis towards a more sustainable future within dentistry?British dental journal · 2022Article
- Environmental Sustainability Through Good-Quality Oral Healthcare.International dental journal · 2022Article
- COVID-19 presents an opportunity for dental teams to become ready for person-centred care.British dental journal · 2021Article
- A green autumn?British dental journal · 2021Article
- Environmental sustainability: measuring and embedding sustainable practice into the dental practice.British dental journal · 2019Article
- Environmental sustainability and biodiversity within the dental practice.British dental journal · 2019Article
- Environmental sustainability and waste within the dental practice.British dental journal · 2019Article
- Environmentally sustainable dentistry: a brief introduction to sustainable concepts within the dental practice.British dental journal · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A significant amount of dentistry's carbon emissions originate from travel (64.5%). Dental-associated travel affects air quality, releasing over 443 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 22 tonnes of particulate matter (PM2.5) annually. This reduction in air quality reduces over 325 quality-adjusted life years (QALY) per year. Wider health impacts associated with noise and traffic incidents doubles the impact on health in QALYs. Dental procedures that require shorter appointment times have disproportionately higher emissions due to patient travel. The dental team can reduce appointment times by combining visits for family members or combining operative procedures, or reducing appointment frequency based on patient risk. Community oral health programmes and preventive programmes reduce travel emissions. The number of physical dental appointments can be reduced using information technology such as global positioning systems (GPS), telemedicine and teleconferencing. The mode of travel is important, with the air and carbon emissions generated by active travel negligent compared to a private car. Travel plans can help encourage active travel, as can flexible working hours, cycle to work schemes, cycle racks and shower facilities. Practices should consider purchasing locally sourced or sustainably transported goods and, ideally, use local dental laboratories.
Indexed as
Identifiers
30980009What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.