Maria Vasilakis, DMD is one of the first 100 dental practices in the world to achieve the Eco-Dentistry Association’s Bronze Certification, by successfully completing the EDA’s GreenDOC™ program. Only dental offices meeting the association’s highest standards of pollution prevention, waste reduction, water and energy conservation, and wellness-based practices qualify as EDA certified offices.
The EDA’s GreenDOC™ program contains over 180 eco-friendly initiatives that dental offices can implement, covering the physical office space, dental processes and materials, and administrative and community outreach methods used by the office. For example, our office uses digital imaging and digital patient charting, which reduces landfill waste and patient radiation exposure by as much as 90%, and have installed a special device capturing mercury-containing material before it enters local water supplies. Over the last two years we have implemented a wide range of initiatives listed in the GreenDOC program and achieved 179 points, allowing us to earn Bronze Certification.
We know that our environmental problems are serious and that each of us needs to do what we can to be part of the solution. As an EDA Certified practice, we are able to continue to provide our patients with the highest quality of dental care while incorporating the highest standards of planetary care.
We have dedicated to green retrofitting the practice since Dr. Maria began seeing patients in 2010. We began with small initiatives like a recycling program and digital patient communication platform to reduce waste and have moved on to larger building projects. Energy and water audits have helped identify areas for reducing waste. We know how much our patients care about sustainability and through our efforts we hope to show how serious we are about environmental consciousness.
For more information about the GreenDOC™ program please visit www.ecodentistry.org and for more information about the changes in our office please email info@drmariadental.com.
Dr. Maria is a Restorative Dentist in Brighton, MA. She holds a B.A. in Zoology from Miami University, and received her DMD from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. She has a passion for her career, and is a third generation dentist in her family.