Environmental Sustainability in Oral Healthcare

Dental care, while essential to human health, currently has a considerable environmental footprint across its entire supply chain. From materials manufacturing and distribution to clinical practice and waste management, every stage presents both challenges and opportunities for sustainability. This Research Topic seeks to weave a narrative through the dental care lifecycle, inviting contributions that address specific sustainability issues and innovations throughout the system.

1. Sustainable Manufacturing & Materials
We invite articles examining greener manufacturing processes, eco-friendly dental materials, and efforts to reduce the environmental impact of producing dental equipment—including personal protective equipment (PPE).

2. Sustainable Distribution & Packaging
Submissions are welcome on innovative logistics, sustainable packaging, and inventory solutions that cut emissions and minimize resource use.

3. Clinical Practice Innovations
We encourage discussion on sustainable approaches in the clinic, including preventive care, resource-efficient technologies like digital dentistry and CAD-CAM, and balancing infection control with environmental protection.

4. Education & Professional Culture
How can dental training and ongoing professional development foster a culture of sustainability? Share examples of curriculum innovation, staff engagement, and leadership in environmental stewardship.

5. Waste Management & Circular Economy
We seek papers on recycling, responsible disposal, and the development of circular economy models for dental materials and products.

6. Intersections & Systems Thinking
Contributions that highlight connections between supply chain stages, or collaborative approaches among clinicians and stakeholders, are especially encouraged.

This collection aims to highlight evidence-based actions for greener dentistry—as outlined in FDI’s Consensus on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare—and spark transformative change toward a more sustainable future in oral health.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: green dentistry, sustainable dental care, eco-friendly dental materials, environmentally sustainable oral healthcare, circular economy dentistry, digital dentistry sustainability, dental waste reduction, climate impact dental supply chain

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.