The Eco-Dentistry Association Announces the First International Standard for Green Dental Offices

The Eco-Dentistry Association Announces the First International Standard for Green Dental Offices

GreenDOC™  Certification Program specific to dental offices provides benchmark for green dentistry

BERKELEY, California (September 15, 2009) - The Eco-Dentistry Association today announces its GreenDOC™ dental office certification program. The certification provides the first international standard for eco-friendly dental practice.  The GreenDOC™ Checklist: Standards for Green Dental Offices is the foundation of the program, providing eco-friendly initiatives in eight implementation categories such as waste reduction, location, and patient care. The landmark certification program also includes worksheets, action plans, how to guide, and a product guide to help EDA members achieve the program’s rigorous benchmarks through a simple-to-complete process.

“This is a critical development for dentistry,” said Dr. Fred Pockrass, co-founder of the Eco-Dentistry Association™.  By defining what constitutes a green dental office through the GreenDOC™ program of the EDA, we’re doing for dentistry what the US Green Building Council did for building with their LEED certification program for building construction: setting rigorous, consistent and attainable standards for the greening of our industry.”

Prior to the GreenDOC™ program, dentists who wanted to lighten their environmental impact relied on the same initiatives as general business, such as using recycled paper or changing to more efficient light bulbs.  Dentists could tap into local Green Business Certification Programs, where available, but they are not consistent across the country, and often do not include dentistry-specific standards.  “The GreenDOC™ program is the only certification with specific measures related to dental processes, procedures and administration,” explains Susan Beck, the Director of the EDA, “This is a tremendous benefit for dentists who want to go as ‘dark green’ as possible; and for patients, who now have an easily recognizable seal that verifies their dentists’ claims to practicing in an environmentally friendly way.”

The Eco-Dentistry Association™ offers dental professionals resources, continuing education, and the opportunity to connect with patients looking for eco-friendly dentists; and provides the public with information about green dental practitioners and products, as well as a link to EDA members in their area.

To date, the planet-friendly organization has registered eco-conscious members in the United States, Canada, Guam, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. The group’s members hail from all over including unexpected places like Waxahachie, Texas, Beachwood, Ohio, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The organization is the brainchild of Dr. Fred Pockrass, a dentist, and his entrepreneur wife, Ina Pockrass. Six years ago, the couple created the model for eco-friendly dentistry, and operates their own award-winning dental practice in Berkeley, California, the first in the country to be certified as a green business. They formed the organization to stimulate a movement in the dental industry to employ

More information can be found at www.ecodentistry.org