Environmental Impact of a Tooth Extraction: Life Cycle Analysis in a University Hospital Setting

This study focussed on quantifying the environmental burden of a standard dental treatment, specifically a tooth extraction, and on identifying the environmental impact of the process.

The greatest single contributors to the environmental impact of an extraction procedure were travel, the production of steam (e.g., for sterilisation), electricity, soap, and waste. After normalisation, the process impact was highest on the categories: human toxicity (cancer effects and non-cancer effects), freshwater ecotoxicity, resource use (energy carriers) and ionising radiation (human health). The total environmental impact was 13.8 kg CO2 equivalents, which compares to driving a distance of 56.3 km with a gasoline-powered vehicle. The implementation of a digital consent process could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1% to 8.8 kg CO2 equivalents.

P. Künzle, A. C. Frank, and S. Paris, “ Environmental Impact of a Tooth Extraction: Life Cycle Analysis in a University Hospital Setting,” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (2025): 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdoe.70003.