We make living a healthy lifestyle a priority and living healthy also means taking care of the environment. We want to be better neighbors in our community and take responsibility for our individual impact on the Earth. For us, this means reducing the plastic waste produced by our offices.
While our team has already implemented green habits into our day-to-day practice with recycling and reusable coffee tumblers, we found that only about 8% of recycling that goes into recycling bins is actually recycled. After learning more about the fate of our plastic waste, we wanted to take our green revolution a step further and focus on one of biggest issues when it comes to dental offices and plastic waste: toothbrushes.
While toothbrushes are imperative for a healthy body, they are like a cavity on our healthy environment. Plastic toothbrushes (including the plastic packages) are not biodegradable, and end up in landfills and our waterways. Believe it or not, your very first toothbrush is still around, along with the 4.7 billion toothbrushes that are dumped into our landfills and oceans each year. All of this plastic waste can lead to a number of environmental issues such as damaged marine life, poor economy for fishing communities, chemical leaching, and polluted drinking water. A single toothbrush doesn’t seem like it could contribute to that much damage, does it?
So what are our Northwest Dental Center locations doing to combat the environmental cavity caused by plastic toothbrushes? The answer is bamboo brushes! Everyone enjoys getting a brand new toothbrush at their appointment. We want to give you an option that is both good for your mouth and the environment. Bamboo brushes are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic brushes and they are biodegradable.
There are other benefits to bamboo toothbrushes, too! Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial and will help protect your mouth from bad bacteria. What’s more, the Brush with Bamboo brushes in our office are 100% vegan, verified BPA-free, non-GMO, gluten-free and non-toxic. Make sure to ask about one during your next appointment!
Offering these eco-friendly bamboo brushes is just the beginning of our green revolution. Stay tuned on our blog for more info on greening our dental routine!