assessment of dental waste production rate and management in sari, iran

Dental offices produce a variety of dangerous wastes during normal business day. most of these waste are nonhazardous that can be managed as household wastes; however, some component are hazardous and can pose a risk to human and the environment if discarded to municipal solid wastes. these types of wastes must be managed separately. therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the component and production rate of dental waste in sari city, northern of iran in 2011-2012. a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 64 private dental practices from 146 available dental clinics in sari city using a checklist and questionnaires which contain 25 questions and items. dental wastes were weighed to determined qualitative and quantitative analysis. the data were analyzed using spss and ms-excel. the results indicated that 77% of produced wastes were non-hazardous. the acceptable level management was observed only in 3.7% offices. the most desirable element management was accurate collecting (30.88%) in these offices. in general, it can be concluded that there is no proper management of wastes in dental centers of sari. the mercury recycling is required for optimal management of dental waste. furthermore, the dentists’ education must be takes place to perform the management activities including reduction, separation and recycling inside the office.