Life Cycle Assessment of Impacted Tooth Surgery Under Different Clinical Scenarios

Background/Objectives: Dental procedures are generally not considered environmentally sustainable; however, there is a growing emphasis on the implementation of environmentally conscious practices in dentistry. Despite this shift, the environmental impact of oral surgical interventions remains insufficiently investigated. The odontectomy of impacted teeth represents the most frequently performed procedure in oral surgery. The aim of this study was to conduct a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of the odontectomy of submucosal and intraosseous impacted teeth. Methods: To perform the life cycle assessment, a life cycle inventory was compiled based on the observation and measurement of odontectomy procedures carried out at the dental clinic of George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania. The analysis was carried out using the OpenLCA 2.5 software and the ReCiPe 2016 v1.03 midpoint and endpoint impact categories. Results: Odontectomy of intraosseous impacted teeth had higher environmental impact values than submucosal procedures across all midpoint categories examined. The climate change (GWP) results were 1.43 kg CO₂-eq (submucosal) and 1.56 kg CO₂-eq (intraosseous) in the average-case scenario, while in the worst-case scenario these values increased to 2.21 and 2.35 kg CO₂-eq, respectively. The overall DALY value was also higher in the intraosseous group. Single-use materials contributed the most to the majority of impact categories, while the contribution of reusable instruments was also noticeably higher in intraosseous procedures. Conclusions: A comparison of the two surgical procedures indicates that the environmental burden is primarily associated with the complexity of the procedure and the associated equipment requirements. Integrating sustainability considerations into clinical protocols could potentially yield significant environmental benefits in oral surgery.