It is the duty of every citizen to save mother earth and have an eco-friendly lifestyle. Taking baby steps will help the earth to become a better place.

Earth day is celebrated every 22nd of April with more than 1 billion people participating. People from 192 countries are seen marching, signing petitions and planting trees. This Earth day, let us pledge to ditch all the polluting products and use sustainable and degradable products.

Here are a few tips which we can use in our daily lifestyle and preserve the environment.

Reduce plastic use 

1. Swap your plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush. There a number of options available online. Moreover, these toothbrushes are sustainable and a great investment.
2. Who needs a plastic bottle? If you are carrying your own bottle, you don’t have to waste money on buying packaged drinking water. Stainless steel or copper bottles are reusable and are easy to carry.
3. Stop using plastic trash bags, you can make a compost can in your kitchen pantry, you can make fertilizers for plants on your own by moist waste and organic matter.
4. Using stainless steel utensils, containers, bucket instead of plastic makes a great investment in implementing an eco-friendly lifestyle.
5. Avoid using plastic bags, carry a cloth bag whenever you are going out for shopping.
6. Buy organic vegetables instead of packaged products. Buy fruits vegetables from local vendors.

Eco-friendly habits

1. Stop using a tissue paper, and use a cloth handkerchief.
2. Install energy-efficient appliances in your house.
3. Buy curtains that are light in colour, to let maximum light inside the room.
4. Turn off the tap faucet while other activities like brushing, shaving, etc.
5. Make a carpool. This will help you to save fuel as well as money.
6. Walk as much as you can. It is the cheapest exercise.
7. Install an online newspaper on your phone.
8. For women, try to use sustainable menstrual products like cloth pads or menstrual cups.

What can a dental professional do to start an eco-friendly lifestyle?

1. Use metal or autoclavable instruments instead of single-use disposables.
2. Biodegradable bags as barriers which are made from natural materials such as vegetable starches and breakdown in the environment.
3. Limit the use of multiple gloves during patient care.
4. Use a reusable face mask which is autoclavable.
5. Go paperless. There are a number of software which keeps a record of thousands of patients and is user-friendly.
6. Install energy-efficient products.
7. If traditional x-rays are used, recycle lead foil, fixer and developer solutions.
8. Use Coco-floss rather than using plastic or nylon floss. Coco-floss is made of polyester filaments infused with coconut oil and a variety of aromas.

A small change in lifestyle can bring a big difference in the environment. Green dentistry is the way to go and contribute maximum to save Mother Earth.