Episode : #978: Eco-Friendly Methods To Establish Today

Podcast Description

Tiff and Dana walk through different dental departments and share ideas many practices have used to keep things green, including reconsidering which items actually need to be disposable, reducing paper, reusing plastic, and more.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:02)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I'm so excited to be here with you again. You know that I am just always so happy to bring Dana on the set with us and be here with you. We love sharing our tips. We love sharing our tricks. We love sharing our, I don't know, workout gear with you and all of the pieces and just sharing our lives with you. So we are both so excited to be here today. Dana, thank you for always being on board, for hopping on, for jumping in on any conversation. I know I spin you.

and throw you in some directions that you're not always expecting. So thank you for keeping up with me and knowing how to roll with the punches. How are you on this fine, fine afternoon?

Dana (00:42)

Doing good. I'm excited to be here. You know you're right. You keep me on my toes. I never really know what you're going to throw at me, but I leave with a smile on my face and having loved it. So I'm excited to be here too.

The Dental A Team (00:48)

That's true.

Perfect.

And now clients and non-clients and listeners here, you guys know that this is truly unscripted from our brains. We come up with topics, but we do riff here and we really pick each other's brains and really come up with solutions for things just the same as we do on your coaching calls. So when you guys bring stuff like this to us clients, this is how we roll. And for anyone who is wondering,

We do have conversations like this outside of the podcast world as well, as consultants are constantly talking to one another about things that we're seeing in practices, things we're experiencing when I need something, maybe I don't have an answer for it. Cause you guys, I know this is going to sound crazy and wild, but we do not know everything. I know it's a shocker. It's a shocker, but combined between all of us, we've got it pretty well handled. So if there's something I don't know,

or have questions on, I definitely, definitely throw it to my ladies and get those answers for you guys. So rest assured everyone, we're constantly collaborating just like we tell you to collaborate and we're constantly growing and learning ourselves. So Dana, thanks for being one of those beautiful ladies behind the scenes for me on so many occasions and I'm excited for today's topic. I...

I just barely prepped you with it, but it sounds like you've recently had a conversation like this with a practice and I'm excited for it. So think it's really something that has been coming around the dental scene for probably the past 10 or more even years, but really strong recently. listeners, we're going to talk today on some eco-friendly dental practice methods. And that doesn't just mean dentistry, but really a lot of the products and just what are we doing?

new out there right now to really go green and a lot of the practices and Dana with your conversation that you've just had with your practice recently I know you've got a lot of hot tips and tricks and there are other practices out there we both talked to as well but what do you have for us today on on that like what eco-friendly things did you guys chat about on that call?

Dana (03:04)

Yeah, and I think that it is just coming up with ways any ways that we can reuse, reduce and recycle things right When it comes to eco friendly offices And the biggest thing in dentistry is our disposables, right? So what are the things that we have that are disposables? Can we find a recyclable option? Or that we can reduce the number of disposable items that we're using or eliminate them altogether if it is, you know,

The Dental A Team (03:10)

Yeah.

Dana (03:31)

I'm all about sanitation, infection control, all of those things. But I think COVID put us in a little bit of like a redundancy mode in some of those areas. And so I feel like in the last 4 years, our disposables have gone up a ton. And our infection control, while those standards are great, I think even above and beyond what is really needed. And so I think it's just finding ways to navigate those things. And we tend to like put plastic over everything and just use

things that aren't super eco-friendly to keep like sanitization standards. And so we don't want to give up on those things, but there are a lot of new products and new technologies and things that we can use that aren't necessarily disposable like we're so used to them being.

The Dental A Team (04:19)

Yeah.

Yeah,

I love all of that. I totally agree with you and I hope everyone got the 90s child reference, the late 80s 90s child reference there, reduced, recycle. If everyone could see the commercial and hear the song, I would be even happier right now. I think it needs to come back. I agree. I do love the fact that you mentioned the disposable pieces and like the plastics on everything. And it's funny because I've

Dana (04:32)

Did you love it?

The Dental A Team (04:50)

I've done it myself and I've watched people put the plastics on and then take the plastics off and then like we're scrubbing everything still and so it's like gosh that's that redundancy space that is it necessary and is it always necessary for every appointment too?

know, because my implant placement appointment or extraction or perio surgery or SRP even is going to be a little messier, we'll say. It's going to look a little different than my limited exam with a PA where I'm not actually infiltrating any tooth structure whatsoever and everything's very clean. So are we taking that into consideration too, which I think leads into exactly where you said like, are we taking inventory of the disposables that we're using? Because do we need to

to

do we need to have disposable air water syringes? Number one, is that completely necessary? And do we need it on both air waters for the limited exam because they're both gonna be removed likely and tossed out after that appointment, especially if you've got.

sterile tech or another dental assistant or anybody coming into the room because they don't know what you touched and so they're going to dispose of anything that's disposable. So I think just taking into consideration too what the next appointment is.

what's actually necessary and only putting out the things that are necessary. for doctors listening, this definitely is an overhead situation. It's going to help supply cost immensely. But for everyone who's listening, this is a reduce, reuse, recycle situation of we've got to save the dang planet, you guys. We've got to do what we can to really make sure that we're not filling those landfills with unnecessary debris and that we're really doing the best that we can for the people that are.

the people that are here.

I think I still see Dana when I go in offices, I still see, you know, those dental assistants running around there. And I was this person, they just grabbed, you know, we've got a filling coming up and I just grab a stack of two by two by two. So just grab a stack or the hygienist, right? Just grab a stack instead of like, how many do I actually need? And my doctor, realistically, we only need two. If I'm cleaning off your instrument, you're passing it, you know, you, you pack the composite in there and I need to clean the instrument off before you pack more composite.

it's not going to take this whole stack. I'm never using all of those. And if I do need more, then I can get more. It's available. And same with hygiene, right? When you're going through and scaling, like you don't need a massive stack in most cases. You probably need two to four, I would assume, to really keep your instruments clean. So even just as simple as that. Now, Dana, I...

On the same subject, right, eco-friendly, what are you seeing practices do within the front office with paper? I know paper's always been a big thing. And then COVID happened. And like, I think we got paper crazy again, which was the exact opposite of what I thought would happen, but we got paper crazy again. And what are you seeing offices do now to try to combat that and switch things back around?

Dana (07:58)

Yeah, and I think it is. just going back to making sure that they're doing medical histories, like sending those to patients ahead of time and doing them electronically, doing their consents electronically when patients walk in, you know, using the iPads for new patient information, for treatment planning and presenting. So there's a lot of ways and not only, think that a lot of this is there's kind of like another benefit to it, right? We can switch everything to electronic, which is also going to save us a fair amount of time.

I was just in a practice recently and they were like, Hey, we're clocking a lot of overtime. And I'm like, front office, like, what are we doing with our overtime? And I'm not kidding you. They looked at me and said, well, we spend about two hours at the end of the day shredding. And I was just like, wait, what? So not only right, are we being eco-friendly by eliminating paperwork, we're truly eliminating work from our team two hours every day spent on shredding.

The Dental A Team (08:38)

Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. I had an office last week that said the same thing.

Dana (08:54)

then we're paying a shredding company to come and take our shreddables too. So it's like you said, it helps with supply costs and it helps with costs and it truly also buys us back time while also serving the environment and being really, you know, as eco-friendly in those instances as possible.

The Dental A Team (08:57)

Yeah.

Totally, totally agree. I literally had an office just, I think it was two weeks ago now, Trish and I went to an office and they had a massive shred pile and I was like, what are we shredding? Like, what do we have to shred if we're getting insurance verifications, like download it on the PC and then upload it into the document center, like all these different spaces. So being efficient and being innovative is gonna be huge. How can we reduce the amount of paper that we're using, the amount of ink that we're using, because those ink cartridges, they gotta be thrown.

away somewhere and they have to be picked up like it's this whole process just for ink cartridges. One space I know I work with a lot of teams on is route slips because yes yes yes yes to route slips. I want route slips but it doesn't mean it has to be individually printed every time. I have plenty of practices that do that and prefer it. I'm totally fine with it. I don't care what you guys decide to do but I have a lot of practices actually that pre-print

they'll print what they want a route slip to look like and then laminate it and they fill that out per patient. And so the night before or...

day of whatever, they fill these route slips out just the same as they would have printed them and then they're setting them on the counter. Most of the time it's like patient name, type of appointment and any balance that they might have. And then the back office is then filling out that NDTR space, the next visit date, time, re-care. And so there's really not a whole lot of extra that you need on your route slip. They should be pretty simple. If you've got, I have a lot of practices that have a lot of checklists and check systems on their route slips.

and I'm totally fine if you want them there. Again, I don't have a huge preference, but they're not necessary. I do think if you need an appointment check system, then maybe make a separate sheet that's laminated per appointment that the dental assistant or hygienist can keep and check off for that appointment, especially if you're gonna do the laminated version so the front office doesn't feel like they're filling a ton out as well.

route slips, I agree, any kind of forms or documents that you can automate and make them put them online, make sure all of your stuff is on your website, make sure that the forms are being texted and emailed to your patients prior like this is 2025. remember, gosh, I remember way back in like, how to be like 2009 2010. My doctor that I worked for was like one of the first doctors to he was always he's very innovative. So he's one of the doctors that's always got

the next best tech thing. And I remember way back in 2009, 2010, he came to me and he was like, we're doing a kiosk, Dent, a Dentrix has a kiosk, and everyone's going to check in on this little computer on this little desk in the corner. And it's going to automatically put the paperwork into our system. And it's going to be amazing. And I was like, no, it's not. And it was so clunky, and it was so hard, and so difficult. So

to my men and women of 2025 in the dental industry. If you didn't get to experience the pains of getting to where we are today, and you think today's paperwork is difficult, I have stories to tell you. It was ugly. It was so hard. Everyone hated it. It never transferred. It never uploaded correctly. Patients hated it. It was embarrassing. Oh my gosh, the day and age we live in today of automation just blows my mind. So every time

Dana (12:23)

Thanks

The Dental A Team (12:37)

I walk into a practice and they're like, it's too hard. I'm like, let me tell you and we get it done. So just go get it done guys. Dana, do you remember that? Were you one of those offices?

Dana (12:47)

yeah. Yep. Yeah. And you know, I I'm all about like being on top of tech and being but sometimes I'm like, let's let it work its kinks out. Let's let it work its kinks out before we're like, maybe man number one on it.

The Dental A Team (12:53)

Yes.

Yes.

Literally, think yeah,

I think that the the rep just got to him and we were like one of the first I swear and I was like, oh for the love doctor and I'm like 20, you know 20 maybe 23 I guess back 23 24 back then but I'm just like baby I felt like like I don't know how to do this. Like are you kidding me? barely I I

was using dial-up in high school, okay? This kiosk, less than 10 years later, is blowing my mind. I can't, I can't with this kiosk, but today it's much different. So there's everyone, in case anyone wanted to know my age or how much of a...

Grandma, I am when it comes to tech, there's your answers. Dial up and kiosks and it was a pain and today I finally feel confident today with Canva and I've been working on that for I feel like two years. So here we are, here we are. But and then.

Dana (13:54)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (13:57)

On the space of eco-friendly, I think those are really, really fantastic ways. I've also heard, I don't have all the stats and the answers on it, but I do know that there's been a lot of research by a lot of doctors on different like vacuum systems for the suctions and different, I know there's a dry and a wet and one or the other, right? They both have their pros and their cons, but making sure those two, if you do find yourself in a situation where you need to replace your system, I know I've got a doctor that's working on that right now.

actually making sure you do your due diligence and research on that because there is a way per the stats at least to save a ton of water with the dry system and so I know even down to those pieces or a lot of the new data you might even know a lot of the more stats or whatever but a lot of the new

compressors and things are more energy efficient and lasting longer. It's kind of like the Energizer Bunny, like the batteries just keep getting better. So I know a lot of those spaces as well, and the hand pieces, electric, you know, motorized and all those different spaces. So there's a ton there. And Dana, what about for, I think hygiene department wise for you, what about the

Like the giveaway bags, all of those pieces, like what are you seeing practices do there?

Dana (15:17)

Yeah, I've had a lot of offices either nix the bags all together and just kind of like bundle them or switch to like a paper bag versus a plastic bag. Also to there are a ton of eco friendly home care products coming out and I'm not advocating for them. I think do your research, make sure they meet your standards for your patient. But there's, know, bamboo toothbrushes, there are now recyclable toothpaste containers and you can be a recycling center for them. There are also toothpaste tablets that like you just refill you can just get a sachet.

The Dental A Team (15:25)

Yeah.

That's cool.

Dana (15:46)

fancy words, Hachet, of the little tablets and you put them in your plastic container. So you just reuse that plastic container over and over again. So there's all kinds of eco-friendly home care products too that you can consider switching to. Just reduce waste, you know, from a patient perspective too. So I think all of those things are worth taking a look at.

The Dental A Team (15:46)

I do like that.

Dana (16:08)

Again, making sure as long as they meet the standards of your office and what you want your patient to utilize them for, if you can opt for an eco-friendly version and it's something that you're wanting to incorporate more of, I say go for it.

The Dental A Team (16:20)

Yeah, I love the toothpaste that you mentioned. know I've seen one of the hygienists that's been in my life. does a lot of, she just does a lot of this stuff and she does a lot of posting about it. And she posts the powder that comes in the little jar, right? Like, gosh, that's brilliant because you like the sachet, right? You're refilling that jar. And so it's a glass jar that you're refilling with the powder and you're just getting your toothbrush wet, dipping it in the powder and then brushing your teeth. And you just think about how many

Dana (16:33)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (16:50)

tubes of toothpaste run through your household, just your one household, how many tubes of toothpaste are thrown away on average, right? Probably somewhere between two to six a year, I can imagine, right? At least two to six a year for every household. If you can

teach your patients and educate your patients about products like that, that do work, do your research, right? I don't know which product was, I did not do the research on it, right? I did not buy it, I will do more research, but like do your research like Dana said and advocate for something you believe in, but make sure you're educating your patients too. So maybe you've got those things on hand at the dental practice, maybe those companies have disposable ones that you can give out.

Dana (17:18)

you

The Dental A Team (17:38)

And I've had a lot of practices too that have done away with like the bags and really they each time just ask the patient like, hey, do you use the disposable toothbrush? A lot of our patients, you guys, we've sold them electric toothbrushes. So a lot of our patients aren't using disposable toothbrushes. And I can tell you, most of the time those disposable toothbrushes are used for the guest bathroom for when somebody comes and forgot their toothbrush, right? That's what I did with them. That's what I do with them. That's where they are.

Dana (17:50)

That's for sure.

The Dental A Team (18:06)

So making sure we're asking those questions and only giving those things out as necessary because eventually they do go into the landfills and all those spaces. So take a look, look at what you can do, how you can make things a little better. Like can we install, I know in the house I'm like use the fans guys, like don't turn the AC on yet. I know it's.

96 degrees today. I hear you. I'm in Phoenix. I get it. But I'm like, none of the fans in the household are on and we're cranking the AC. Come on, like how can we be how can we be more economic and eco friendly in every aspect. So I think there's a lot of space in it for the dental in the dental practice. And then there's a lot of space for us to really educate our patients on how they can carry that through into their own homes. Yeah, Dana.

What do you think, I'm gonna do this to you again, what do you think are some good actionable items, especially because you just chatted with your own practice that you consult, what do you think are some good action items, some easy things that they can consider either watching or switching out or whatever that they can take away from today's chat?

Dana (19:10)

Yeah, I think first thing is just review your disposables, right? Is it necessary to use all of the things that you use? And is there there, you know, one that you can sterilize or you can reuse alternative? Make sure we're looking at just paper waste, right? How much have we shifted or can we shift electronically? It'll just help with efficiency too. So this is a win win on both sides. So take a look at paper use in the practice and then do some research on some eco-friendly products and see if your office is a good fit for them.

The Dental A Team (19:39)

I love it. I love it.

Thank you, Dana. Thank you for taking this adventure with me today. I was so happy to hear that you had just had this conversation with a practice recently, so that makes it very simple. So thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you, everyone here for listening. As always, we appreciate, value you. We are here for all of the things and we're here to support you. So drop us a five-star review. Always let us know if there's any topic you wish that we would talk about. Dana and I will get right on it. I promise you that. We need the ideas, you guys. So thank you. [email protected]

[email protected] and we'll catch you next time.