The School of Dentistry reduces its consumption of energy and materials

These days, the School of Dentistry at the Department of Odontology is taking steps to become more sustainable. The School has reduced its climate footprint by reducing its use of sterilisation and wrapping of instruments and other equipment in the clinic. Focus has been on autoclaving, which is an energy-intensive process for sterilising instruments.

According to Jannie Anthony, Area Manager, one of the main changes involves the use of drills.

“Previously, all drills were autoclaved twice – a process requiring a lot of energy. The drills are washed, disinfected, lubricated and sterilised in a machine, and subsequently, all drills were wrapped and autoclaved once again before use. Now we only re-autoclave drills before performing root canal treatment and other invasive procedures, where instruments have to be sterile. However, most instruments are used directly for ordinary procedures,” she says.

And as we are dealing with several hundred machines a day, the effect on the School’s total energy consumption is tangible.

This is what the washing machine looks like!

Differentiation of instruments

A main element of the School of Dentistry’s sustainability process is reduced use of wrapping based on analyses of what needs to be sterilised – that is, wrapped.

Instruments used in surgery and root canal treatment have to be sterile and wrapped to prevent microorganisms from entering the tissue and blood during treatment.

“Patient safety is our number one priority. When treatment involves the tissue, instruments have to be sterile. This means that they have to be wrapped and cannot be unwrapped until the moment they are needed. But for less invasive procedures, the instruments do not necessarily have to be wrapped during autoclaving,” says Tove Larsen, Associate Professor at the Department of Odontology.

The School has evaluated all of its procedures and conducted individual risk assessments and thus changed the way they handle instruments and equipment. It has been a time-consuming process, but it has paid off.

“We have changed procedures for a number of instruments. Aside from the drills, this also includes pliers for teeth straightening and X-ray holders. We have had to differentiate when it comes to specific instruments. For instance, we now distinguish between X-ray holders used for ordinary procedures, which do not need wrapping, and X-ray holders used for root canal treatment, which do need wrapping. This means that we have had to focus on the logistics to make sure we have instruments available for all types of treatment,” says Tove Larsen.

All in all, the School of Dentistry has been able to reduce the amount of wrapping used, saving time and resources and reducing waste.

This is a good example of how careful evaluation of work routines can lead to more sustainable practices.

Last, but not least, the staff have worked together on changing work procedures to make the School more sustainable, and the changes have quickly become part of the day-to-day routines.