Study measures carbon footprint of Egyptian dental labs

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 9. May 2025

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: The global push for reaching net-zero emissions has led to a better understanding of the types and volumes of emissions attributable to dental clinics; however, little attention has been paid to the carbon footprint of dental laboratories. A new study by researchers at Alexandria University has quantified the direct and indirect carbon footprints of private dental laboratories in Egypt. Among the findings was that energy consumption and the depreciation of dental equipment were significant contributors to the businesses’ carbon emissions.

The cross-sectional study included data from 21 private dental laboratories operating in Alexandria, Cairo and El Beheira. The authors pointed out that calculating the laboratories’ carbon footprints required the combination of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions arising from services, products and processes, including from staff travel, waste, energy and water consumption, procurement and depreciation of dental equipment. The emissions were expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e), a standardised unit that accounts for the global warming potential of all greenhouse gases by converting them into the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

The study found that the average laboratory had a carbon footprint of 20,820 kg CO₂e, which was equal to 2.9 kg CO₂e per appliance sold. At 43.6%, staff travel accounted for the greatest share of the total carbon footprint, followed by procurement, at 27.8%, energy consumption, at 25.0%, waste, at 3.3%, and water consumption, at 0.1%. When the depreciation of dental equipment was factored in, the average carbon footprint of the laboratories increased by 7.7%.

The high CO₂e associated with energy consumption was attributed to the use of multiple couriers freighting appliances and impressions between locations via motorbike. Further excess energy consumption was attributable to the use of air conditioning to cool energy-intensive machines year-round and to long staff working hours.

On average, the laboratories were in operation for 309 days annually, had seven full-time staff and fabricated 7,119 prostheses per year. The authors commented that the results could be extrapolated to dental laboratories in other low- and middle-income countries owing to their shared challenges in the dental industry, energy production and transportation.

The researchers recommended greater implementation of digital dental technologies, including CAD/CAM and 3D printing, to help shorten staff hours and decrease energy and water use. Using energy from renewable sources was recommended to avoid the high CO₂e of fossil fuel-based economies like Egypt. Buildings designed with thermal efficiency could help to reduce the use of air conditioning and power consumption, they added. The authors commented that the depreciation of dental equipment was a hitherto overlooked source of greenhouse gas emissions accumulating over the lifespan of devices.

According to the study, the global dental industry accounts for around 3% of global healthcare greenhouse gas emissions. The latter reached between 1.6 and 2.0 Gt of C0₂e in 2019 and accounted for over 4% of total global emissions.

Editorial note:

The study, titled “Carbon footprint of private dental laboratories in Egypt: A cross-sectional study” , was published online on 17 April 2025 in BDJ Open.

Topics:

Dental Laboratory

Tags:

Carbon footprint Dental laboratory Dental research Environmental sustainability

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