Interview with Green Chamber Sponsor Green Dentistry

Dr. Nammy Patel is innovating dentistry by introducing sustainable methods in treatment, sanitation and interaction with her client base.  We wanted to better understand how an industry whose purpose is to ensure a healthy community can more closely move towards their mission statement and begin to treat people as people not just as patients.

GCC: What inspired you to bring sustainable practices to dentistry?

NP: Part of it is my heritage. I come from a family of farmers in India and we valued sustainability in terms of the land and our relation to the animals, plants, and ecosystem. Beyond that, I just saw the need, and the opportunity to create something different in dentistry. The field has not had a great track record, especially when you consider how many heavy metal fillings people have had put in to their teeth, the inefficient and high radiation x-rays, and the tremendous waste in one-time use plastics and other disposable goods in the office for patients to clean, wipe, rinse, etc.

GCC: What can you tell us about your colleagues who have seen the practice grow? Do they better understand the connection between healing and sustainability?

NP: It seems like people are taking notice. Even during a down economy, my practice continues to thrive, and many traditional dentists have really struggled or had to consolidate practices. I’ve definitely been contacted by quite a few dentists looking to learn how we do what we do.

GCC: We find the concept of creating “partnerships” with your clients refreshing.  How has this connection with your patients lead to better treatment and care?

NP: It all begins with making the patient feel comfortable. By talking with them in a beautifully designed and comfortably furnished consultation room, we can really help take the edge off, and that really benefits the patient. Once they feel more open with their dentist, they feel freer to talk about what’s going on in their dental health, and that leads to better care. It definitely takes me a little more time to do things this way, but I feel it’s worth it to make that connection and make sure that patients get the treatment they deserve.

GCC: What are some of the steps you have taken to minimize waste and what are the benefits you have seen?

NP: We strive to cut waste wherever we can. Our office is LEED certified, which makes it very efficient to run. In addition, it’s a very healthy environment, so when there was a fire in the building a few years back, many other offices were filled with fumes from the accident and ours remained healthy and clean. There’s also little things–we offer people a real glass to drink water from, rather than a plastic, one-time use cup they will throw away. That helps our staff not have to take trash out as often, and of course reduces our cost of having to buy plastic cups.

GCC: What would you like people to think about when they hear about your practice? What would like them to know?

NP: I guess I would like them to know that they’re in great hands…that through the relationship we build with them and the extra mile we go to to make sure the office is healthy and eco-friendly, that we’ve really got their best interests in mind.