By Barona DiNapoli

It was about a year ago when Dr. Nate Swanson of Newmarket Dental first bravely set foot into the world of green dentistry.

He was timid at first; unsure of what was even available to dentists looking to become more environmentally friendly. However, since these days of cautions exploration, Dr. Swanson has become pioneer for local green dentists.

A little over a year ago, Swanson joined the Green Alliance, a Seacoast-based “green business union” and individual discount co-op, in an effort to promote and bolster his in-house sustainability efforts.
Then this past January, Dr. Swanson attended an annual conference in Boston for the Eco Dental Association (EDA). The conference focused on green dental trends and was attended by almost 80 dentists from the New England area.

“It’s great to discover there are other people working on the issue who can guide and encourage me on the journey!” said Swanson.

At the conference, Swanson learned that a group of dentists in California had created a “how-to” guide for making offices consistent with the most recent standards for environmentally sustainable practices. Dr. Swanson also learned about front-runners in the green dentistry movement. For example, an Oregonian dentist built his LEEDs-certified office completely out of recycled, reclaimed, or repurposed materials.

He was also introduced to a local leader in the green movement: himself! At the EDA class, Dr. Swanson found that he knew more about green products than the instructors of the class. When a local dentist asked about recyclable toothbrushes, the instructors of the class weren’t aware of any.

Enter Swanson, who has been using recyclable toothbrushes for 3 years now.

Swanson also pointed out that the toothbrushes were being made from recycled Stoneyfield yogurt cups -- another New Hampshire company renowned for its green initiatives.Later that day, a dentist inquired about green lighting. Once again being more informed than the instructors of the course, Dr.Swanson swooped in to save the day, referencing Concord-based GreenPoma, a fellow member of the Green Alliance that sells eco-friendly lighting to many local businesses.

After the class, Dr. Swanson was bombarded with other dentists wanting to know more about what he was doing at Newmarket Dental and how they could get in on the action too. Since the January conference, Dr. Swanson has begun to understand the significance and innovation behind what he was doing at Newmarket Dental.

In terms of the green dentistry industry, there is significant room for growth. One company, Henry Schein, Inc. has made some progress in selling green dentistry technology. For example, Dr.Swanson recently purchased an eco-friendly suction tip for his office. The tip eliminates waste by keeping over 100 million plastic suction tips out of landfills each year.

He now has dreams of getting more local dentists involved in the green-dentistry movement. “There are a lot of places to exert positive influence” said Swanson. “I’d really like to challenge more local dentists to integrate some of these steps into their own practices.”

Dr. Swanson has a few projects of his own underway at Newmarket Dental. He is currently in the process of transitioning to digital records and x-rays and hopes to move from plastic to cloth sterilization pouches by the end of the year.

“After all that is completed, then I'd like to get my official EDA certification,” he said

In recent years, Dr. Swanson has served as the president of the seacoast component of the New Hampshire Dental Society (NHDS) and was also on the communications committee of the NHDS. Swanson is also currently the vice-president of the Newmarket Business Association and plans to use this pull to spread awareness of green business practices throughout the local area.