Introduction

Sir, a recent item in a national newspaper once again accused dentistry of being a serious polluter by the use of mercury. These writers fail to acknowledge that relative to volcanic emissions the manufacture, use and disposal of dental mercury has traditionally been a minor source of world pollution. Over the past two decades the use of dental amalgam has further declined. Reading this provoked the thought 'how environmentally friendly is dentistry?' Have environmental audits of dentistry been carried out?

Such an examination would show progress and areas for improvement and should be wide ranging, for example from dental manufacturing to the clinic waste containers, from the clinic front door to the extracted air. Should treatment plans be guided by environmental concerns? Is environmental awareness included in dental training programmes? Is being 'green' cost effective?

Moving away from the clinical scenario what about the BDJ being printed on recycled paper or only available online? Can the hot air at dental committee meetings be harnessed?

Through this journal there is an opportunity to share concerns and demonstrate progress made. Most important would be to learn of tips on how to make the practice of dentistry greener.

Ed's note: The BDJ is printed on paper that comes from well managed sustainable sources which conform to internationally recognised certification bodies.

The cover story of the summer issue of Vital featured the first carbon neutral dental practice in the UK. See www.nature.com/vital.