Barriers to environmentally sustainable initiatives in oral health care clinical settings

摘要

Human health is linked to environmental health. Pollutants or disease-causing microbes released into the environment through human activity or natural disasters affect communities’ air quality, water or food supply, and, ultimately, the livelihoods of residents. Oral health care (OHC) professionals, including dental hygienists (DHs), use vast amounts of resources in their daily clinical operations, which contribute to the global pollution burden and climate change. Canadian OHC professionals are largely missing from the environmental sustainability dialogue, despite their commitment to the holistic well-being of their clients and communities they support.