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It just seems natural for a practice with the name Mint Dental Works to be a leader when it comes to going green. True to the hue of the name, Dr. Jason McMillan’s Portland, OR practice recently became the first in the U.S. to receive the highest certification for green design, construction and operations.

The practice – built with reclaimed, sustainable and low-impact materials and operating with efficient use of energy and other resources – was recently awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ platinum certification for commercial interiors. Governed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED certification is the nationally recognized benchmark for green building and operations.

The Portland community and the region’s general environmental consciousness inspired Dr. McMillan, but his original inspiration to do things in sustainable ways came from his mother, who hated to see anything wasted.

“She was one of those moms who was always saying ‘turn the lights off,’ ‘don’t waste that food,’” he said. That was ingrained in me at a very early age. She saved everything, she saw potential in everything.”

Building a sustainable dental practice proved challenging on a number of levels, as Dr. McMillan and his wife Rebecca spent time searching for and rehabbing used materials as well as figuring out creative ways to meet the requirements of a dental practice and the LEED certification requirements.

They scoured the area to find vintage lighting fixtures, old plinth blocks, used school doors and bowling alley flooring, and rehabbed things themselves for use in the practice. However, some things couldn’t be built from used materials, and often Dr. McMillan found himself working closely with dental equipment manufacturers to adapt their products to meet the LEED requirements. This process was difficult at times, but Dr. McMillan appreciated the all-encompassing certification standards.

“It really requires you to pay attention to everything, and that’s really the essence of what sustainability is all about, just paying attention,” he said.

Meeting stringent indoor air quality standards is a big part of the certification process, and Dr. McMillan is very pleased with the way that part of the project turned out. The HVAC system provides increased ventilation, and low-emitting carpeting, paints, adhesives and sealants all help keep the air fresh. Use of natural cleaning products also helps in this area, and patients and staff have commented on the lack of odors and the freshness of the air in the practice.

“For me as a health care provider it just made sense,” Dr. McMillan said. “I wanted to be able to practice in the healthiest environment for myself and my patients.”

Some of the biggest challenges came when there were no products on the market that met the LEED requirements. Getting lighting and energy consumption in line with the standards took a lot of research and eventually he found heating and cooling systems that use as little power as possible, and Energy-Star rated appliances. The practice purchases all its power from renewable sources including wind, geothermal and biomass. But nothing proved as difficult as finding the right cabinetry for the operatory.

LEED certification requires use of particleboard with no urea formaldehyde, but no operatory cabinet manufacturers met this requirement when Dr. McMillan started building his practice. He ended up finding a particleboard that met the requirements and then worked with Pelton & Crane to make custom cabinets that could meet the certification requirements. A line of cabinets based on this effort is one of several dental products Dr. McMillan’s efforts inspired.

“The hope is that we start to have a transformation in the market so there are more products that are available for other doctors that want to build a sustainable office,” he said.

The design of the facility is all about sustainability, and Mint Dental Works takes this same philosophy to their dental practice as well. Dr. McMillan and his staff work to reduce waste and unnecessary use of resources. Getting rid of operatory sinks in favor of medical grade hand sanitizer and a dry dental evacuation system that uses no water. These efforts are estimated to save 360 paper towels and 90 gallons of water each day.

Dr. McMillan’s practice does a lot to lessen its impact on the environment, and by using “eco-dentistry” techniques and materials, he and his team protect their patients’ dental health while reducing their environmental impact. The practice uses mercury-free fillings to reduce toxic waste and digital x-rays that can reduce patients’ radiation exposure by up to 90 percent. Like the air quality, Dr. McMillan believes these efforts are just another part of paying attention and seeing the potential in everything.

The reaction to his effort has been overwhelming in his local community and across the dental industry. He’s thrilled with the way the practice is operating and hopes his efforts are something other dental practices can learn from and emulate. But most of all he’s just thrilled with the way it feels to work in a place he worked so hard to put together.

“The process literally and figuratively required me and my wife to get our hands dirty,” he said. “There is something that comes across to the people that come into the practice. It feels very personal and there’s a personality reflected in the practice.”

Photos provided by Henry Schein Dental.