Quantification of clinical plastic waste in a university dental clinic in Peru

To quantify plastic waste (PW) generated during undergraduate clinical care in a private university dental center in Peru.

This cross-sectional study quantified PW produced during a 19-day period by five clinical sections and one radiology section in relation to type of care (n = 7) and procedure (n = 21) in 40 dental units (DUs). PW was characterized by type, composition, number, and weight. Results were projected by year and analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis test, with P < 0.05 indicating statistical significance.

The projected annual PW was 4,254.9 ± 2,498.1 kg, 22.2 ± 18.5% of which comprised DU protective film. The mean number of pieces and weight of PW per patient was 18.6 ± 15.5 pieces and 126.7 ± 166.2 g; however, the values were higher for pediatric dentistry (25.3 pieces) and periodontics (278.9 g) (P ≤ 0.0002). PW was classified into 53 types, eg, pure composition (65.3%), gloves mainly (21.4%), sterilization packaging (10.6%), and standard dental bibs (9.8%), and by proportion by weight, eg, disposable aprons (31.3%), gloves (21.4%), and dental bibs (11.2%).

Pediatric dentistry and periodontics generated the most PW by amount and weight. PW comprised personal protective equipment, sterilization packaging, and dental protective film. These results highlight the need to decrease waste and increase awareness of efforts to reduce the adverse environmental effects of dental practice.