ArticleBMC oral health2025
A scoping review exploring carbon emissions in dentistry-a step towards sustainability.
Article in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Environmental sustainability in dental education in Jordan: a cross-sectional survey of dental students and educators.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Strengthening climate-health literacy through sustainability education among dental students: a quasi-experimental evaluation.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Are tomorrow's dentists ready for a sustainable future? Insights from a European student survey.Frontiers in dental medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn 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.
methodsThis 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.
resultsA 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.
conclusionsThe 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.
Indexed as
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What 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.