The global burden of plastics in oral health: prospects for circularity, sustainable materials development and practice

Abstract

Plastics are indispensable and ubiquitous materials in oral healthcare and dental applications, favored for their diversity in structure and properties, low cost, durability, chemical and water resistance, ease of processing, and shaping. However, ancillary plastics are used for short periods or even once due to hygiene concerns and convenience, and insufficient attention has been given to their unsustainable current usage and end-of-life. Thus, the amount of plastic waste generated by consumers and clinicians is staggering and projected to increase unabatedly for the foreseeable future. With recent advances in plastics recycling and sustainable polymers, it is time to consider alternatives to tackle dentistry's growing plastic waste problem. This Perspectives article highlights the sources and scale of dental plastic wastage, followed by a multi-pronged consideration of material and practical interventions for this issue. On the materials front, we discuss emerging approaches and alternative sustainable polymers to address the unsustainable end-of-life of existing petroleum-based dental plastics/polymers and enable material circularity. On the practical front, we discuss strategies for sustainable plastic usage, which must be implemented alongside complementary material approaches. These approaches highlight the abundant unrealized opportunities for developing a circular economy around dental plastics while reducing the environmental footprint of modern dentistry.