Sustainability in Prosthodontics
Royal Institution of Great Britain, London, 3rd - 4th April 2025
This timely BSSPD conference on Sustainability in Prosthodontics was held on a sunny spring day, at the prestigious Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri), in the heart of London. In the beautiful historic amphitheater of the Ri, we embarked a journey where the realms of prosthodontics and environmental responsibility intersected, with ideas not only improve patient outcomes, but also preserve our profession and our planet.
Day one: Thursday 3rd April 2025
Dentistry and prosthodontics, much like many other fields, are facing the pressing challenge of embracing sustainability, which is not just an ethical responsibility but also a necessity for future generations, in so many ways. The day started with beverages, introductions and busy future stars pinning posters up.
Dr. Shiyana Eliyas opened the conference and set the scene: although the theme immediately conjures up thoughts of the environment, sustainability can be extrapolated to all aspects of dentistry and especially prosthodontics:
- Sustainable Restorations: How well are our restorations going to be sustained over time, and what can we do to help our patients look after these restorations for longer? What can we build in to manage future failure, and make life easier for patients as they age? Can we educate our patients on the importance of sustainability within oral health care and inspire them to make environmentally conscious choices?
- A Sustainable Environment: What can we learn from the future materials, technology and evidence to lower our carbon footprint and sustain our precious Earth?
- Sustainability of the Profession: How can we have a sustainable workforce and overcome the obstacles of skills shortages, recruitment and retention issues, and still meet the oral health needs of an ever-changing population?
In session 1, chaired by Charlotte Stilwell, Ahmed Al-Khayatt, Mili Doshi MBE and Kavit Shah set out to tackle the first of these themes. Mr. Al-Khayatt displayed an impressive level of clinical skill, as well as humour and humility, as he took us along the winding road to achieving and maintaining a sustainable quality of life for those living with the consequences of head and neck cancer treatment. Mrs. Doshi followed suit, sharing the challenges of looking after the oral health of those living with heartbreaking illnesses, recovery in challenging circumstances and an aging population. How could we have missed this: so many dentures are being thrown away in hospitals and care homes because the denture pots look like yoghurt pots! Let’s all scan the dentures we make so that we can print a new set out quickly to maintain dignity for those most vulnerable.
Mr Shah wrapped things up with a detailed and evidenced based guide to providing prosthodontics with failure in mind. Good oral health and prevention was the running theme. Much discussion was generated: the secret is to keep all options open and plan for failure… it will always come with time.
A bowl food lunch was a hit, allowing mingling, learning and the fun to continue!
After lunch, the second session chaired by Dr Zahra Shehabi, delved into what prosthodontics and dentistry was doing to the environment. Professor Nicolas Martin showcased a huge volume of evidence: how much acrylic and composite dust do we create, and where does it all go? How much worse is amalgam compared to composite in environmental terms? Prof. Martin showed that the most environmentally costly things is travel, not only the obvious patient and staff travel, but the manufacture and procurement of goods including the digital technology we use, the materials we use and of course the waste. Professor Tim Joda beautifully followed this on with a glimpse into the future. Maybe life will get easier with glasses that show us the intra oral scanner screen and the radiographs so we can look at the patient like we used to. Maybe we will be replaced with robots that can be clamped to a tooth and do the crown prep for us. Just maybe intra oral scanner and mobile devices will reduce the patient and staff travel as tele-dentistry leads the way for diagnosing dental disease. Both complimented and agreed with each other that the most sustainable way forward was in fact prevention of dental disease!
Mr George Wright ended the session by introducing the concept of a sustainable career in prosthodontics with ways to protect yourself medico-legally: do the right thing, tell the truth, we all make mistakes, and it could happen to us all. Prof. Martin, Prof. Joda and Mr. Wright ended the day with a very interactive, honest and engaging discussion.
The joy persistent into the evening, with canapés and drinks served and kicked out at closing time!
Day two: Friday 4th April 2025
Ms. Jennifer Jalili chaired the second day, and it began with an emotive presentation on how we can look after ourselves, and each other. Mr. Richard Porter started us off, with Mr. Derek Moore and Mr. Simon Ellis sharing an honest summary of their experiences, capturing the hearts of the audience, as well as showing remarkable resilience. A lesson to us all. Mr. Porter then took us on a whistle-stop tour of our minds: a deeper understanding of ourselves helps to focus on a goal and master our own positive thoughts. Prevention was once again deemed better that the cure. Husband and wife team complimented closely with a personal takes on inclusive leadership and what it means to them.
The Schottlander Research Oral Prize Presentations exhibited the future talents, with sustainability in mind. The final part of the conference was a political debate and question time. Mr. Peter Briggs drove hard questions previously posed by the delegates to the panel members, Mr. Eddie Crouch, Prof Jenny Gallagher MBE, Professor Nick Barker, Ms. Sana Movahedi, and Prof Nicolas Martin. Questions on building a resilient future continued after the Prize presentations. Prevention reverberated throughout the afternoon, as it is more expensive to fix a problem than it is to avoid it. This debate will form the basis of a journal article aimed at hopefully changing the status quo.
The engagement of the audience was applaudable. The experienced dentists within the audience, with their wealth of knowledge and practical insights, were clearly invaluable and provide a strong foundation on which sustainable practices can be built. Our emerging practitioners represented the future of dentistry, with their fresh perspectives and eagerness to innovate will obviously be critical in driving forward a sustainable profession.
All presenters displayed curiosity and humility, and all had a different perspective on sustainability. A mix of Oak, Lime, Hornbeam, Alder, Silver Birch and Hazel trees will be planted in the National Forest, in honour of the Speakers, Panel Members and Chairpersons who contributed to the Conference this year.
Overall, this thought provoking and emotive conference was not just about discussing the challenges but also finding solutions. I am thankful to an outstanding line up on speakers, from varied backgrounds, who explored prosthodontic restoration in a different light, looked at what technology and advanced materials can do to help preserve the planet by reducing waste, travel and energy consumption, and we heard an honest account from those looking to create a sustainable workforce. Who knew so much talent walked among us! We gained many tips and tricks that help to make our work and lives more sustainable. These two days challenged us to rethink convention, will hopefully help us to innovate, and lead change. By remaining free of boundaries and traditions, we can join together to rethink the future.
The conference concluded with the prize presentations, closing remarks from the President citing her mother as inspiration, which was met with wide applause from the audience, and hand over to the new president, Mr. Upen Patel.