Green Dentistry – Dental Practice Design

Contemplating a dental start-up, expanding your dental practice or re-designing your dental practice?  Why not build with eco-friendly materials?

“Deciding to incorporate green eco-friendly elements into your dental practice design is easy” says Peter Moser, AIA, a LEED certified architect.  “When you and your contractor are choosing building materials for your dental practice design, consider environmentally friendly building materials in each category.”  Here are a few suggestions.

• Insulation – Icynene® spray foam insulation; Cellulose insulation made from 85% recycled newspaper by Advanced Fiber Technology or UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber insulation containing 85% post-industrial recycled natural fibers.
• Lighting – Ask for LED, (light emitting diode), high efficiency and long lasting light fixtures or consider using Solatube^® Daylighting Systems passive solar illumination with LEED^® and ENERGY STAR^® ratings and credits.
• Flooring – Look for environmentally friendly commercial flooring products.  Ask your contractor about bamboo flooring;  reclaimed wood flooring;  Mohawk’s everSTRAND™ carpet that contains 100 percent post-consumer recycled content; or FreeStyle Flooring made with a patented blend of recycled plastics.
• Paint – Use low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint.  There is a wide variety of colors and paint manufacturers that are eco-friendly.  Look for Sherwin-Williams (HealthSpec® paints); Benjamin Moore & Co. (Pristine® Eco-Spec® ), or Lowe’s Olympic Premium Paints.

Sharon Kantor Bogetz, dental marketing consultant,  believes that using practical eco-friendly building materials has many benefits for the dentist.

1. Tax advantages.  Talk to your accountant about taking advantage of tax credits for using green building materials.
2. Improved work environment.  You will improve the air quality for you, your staff and your patients.
3. Competitive advantage.  Advertise to current and prospective patients that you care about the environment.  Market your green building materials on your website and in your print materials.
4. Press worthy information.  The media is always looking for a new angle to a story.  Create a press release for the media describing your passion for the environment and your new green dental practice.

Contact Sharon at http://www.MidwestDentalSolutions.com to learn how to design and market you’re a green eco-friendly dental practice.