Who remembers the KonMari method craze that started in 2019? Minimalism swept across our public consciousness in the 2000s and 2010s, crystallizing in the Netflix series showing Marie Kondo’s rigorous practice of purging anything that doesn’t “spark joy.” 

While Marie Kondo may have given up on extreme decluttering via the KonMari method since the birth of her first child, I appreciate minimalism’s desire to cut out excess and pare down to simply the essentials. With our increasing awareness of the effects of climate change, many are looking to possess and consume less in order to lower our personal carbon footprint. 

In dentistry, our drawers and cabinets are overflowing with disposables, autoclavable instruments, and equipment. Things tend to accumulate from the past several decades or from previous owners of a practice. There is a tool for every possible application, no matter how specific, and manufacturers and distributors offer every possible iteration of items in their formulary in catalogues as thick as a phonebook. This inventory can be overwhelming to manage.

That’s one of the reasons why I have found satisfaction using the OMNICHROMA line of shade-matching composites. Previously, I needed to manage over a dozen shades of packable and flowable, microfill and nanofill composites to ensure that I could meet my patient’s esthetic needs for direct restorations while having the proper material properties for long-term success. I found myself with too many of some shades and not enough of others, which increased ordering hassle and drove up our supply budget. I cringed when expired dental materials ended up in the landfill.

It’s not just efficiency of inventory, though—I also strive for an efficient schedule. Shade matching conventional composites increased our chair time per procedure as we spent time with shade guides and having our patient look into a mirror under various light conditions. Furthermore, it necessitated difficult shade blending or accepting a less esthetic monochromatic restoration across teeth with color gradients.

Since switching to OMNICHROMA, I have been able to substantially declutter the composite shelf in our cabinet and order fewer materials. OMNICHROMA, OMNICHROMA Flow, OMNICHROMA Flow Bulk, and OMNICHROMA Blocker are able to handle any well-isolated direct restoration in my practice. I’m able to use my existing etchants, bonding products, and matrix systems, meaning that I didn’t need to overhaul everything when adding OMNICHROMA to my armamentarium. I’m no longer throwing away expired composites of infrequently used shades. This is great for both my supply budget and the planet.

One of my practice’s core values is sustainability. (In case you are curious, the others are respect, approachability, resourcefulness, and trustworthiness.) For each of these values, I strive to have specific examples of things that my team or I can point to showing how we keep it top of mind. It’s no different for our sustainability value. As a new practice owner, I’m still a few years away from building out my dream practice with rooftop solar panels, refurbished and low-carbon building materials, and water-conserving landscaping. Fortunately, I don’t have to wait to implement practices like minimizing disposables and material wastage. It’s not necessarily the flashy things that will make the most difference in mitigating our practice’s environmental impact, but rather the daily practices that make incremental improvements. When we are talking about universal shade matching with our patients, this is something we mention when discussing why we chose this particular material. While patients are most impressed that OMNICHROMA perfectly nails the shade every time, they also appreciate the bonus environmental and efficiency benefits.

If you’re looking for some other manageable ways to make your practice more sustainable, here are some of the things we’ve adopted at our practice:

• Minimize material waste by dispensing solely what is needed (cements, temporary material, gauzes and cotton rolls, etc.).

• Turn off lights, equipment, and computers when not in use. Turning off computers also reduces cybersecurity risk.

• Moderate the temperature control of your office. Smart thermostats can be helpful for reducing electricity consumption during peak hours, but it’s even more impactful to change the temperature by a few degrees to cut down on electricity for air conditioning or gas for the furnace.

• Print only what is necessary, and print double-sided and/or black and white when possible. Submit claims electronically to cut back on paper and postage—another cost-saver.

• Utilize local labs, bundle shipments, and avoid overnight/air transport unless necessary.

Often, this will require buy-in from all members of the dental practice team. Find a way to make these changes beneficial to each of your team members so that they can help meet your sustainability goals. Consider appointing a ‘Sustainability Champion’ who can report out key metrics or provide tips at your team meetings. At my practice, the Sustainability Champion is me.

There isn’t one silver bullet to make dentistry environmentally sustainable, just as the KonMari method isn’t the right organizational system for all people at every point of their lives. Adopting sustainable practices and products intentionally, however, makes a difference that’s beneficial for your practice, your pocketbook, and the planet.