Table 2.

Main themes and sub-themes emerging from qualitative analysis

Main Themes	Sub-theme	Category	Codes	References
Source of Carbon Emission	General Sources		Travel	[8, 19, 30]
			Building Energy	[8, 19]
			Electricity consumption	[7, 8]
			Procurement	[8, 19, 30]
			Waste	[2, 30]
	Contribution from dental care		Toothbrushes	[9]
			Examination	[19, 33]
			Radiographs	[19]
			Study Model	[19]
			Fluoride Varnish	[19, 34]
			Nitrous Oxide Sedation	[19, 31]
			Scale and Polish	[19]
			Amalgam Fillings	[19]
			Composite Restoration	[19]
			Glass Ionomer Fillings	[19]
			Endodontic Treatment	[7, 19]
			Dental crowns	[19]
			Extractions	[19]
			Denture-acrylic/metal	[19]
Strategies to promote sustainable dental practices	Clinical procedure related strategies	Reduce	Combine procedures- reduce appointments	[8, 19, 34]
			Reduce number of instruments in examination kit	[33]
			Reduce glove use	[1, 29]
			Reduce non-recyclable clinical waste	[2, 36]
			Reduce number of files in RCT/Single visit RCT wherever possible	[7]
			Remove Sterile packaging before starting treatment	[29]
		Reuse	Reusable bibs/gowns over disposable bibs/gowns	[7, 33]
			Reusable products	[29]
			Use reusable packaging that can be resterilised	[29]
		Alternative Materials	Environment friendly soap solutions	[7, 33]
			Environment friendly clothing bamboo fibre/recycled plastic	[33]
			Alternatives to iso-propyl alcohol	[7]
			Virgin pulp to sanitary paper to air hand drying	[7, 36]
		Treatment Strategies	Intra oral digital impressions	[1, 36]
			Treatment of preventable oral conditions	[32]
			Shift in endodontics from RCT to vital pulp treatment procedures	[7]
		Nitrous Oxide Management Strategies	Nitrous oxide scavenging machines	[19]
			Nitrous oxide neutralization/Crack Technology	[19, 31]
			Methoxyflurane as a substitute	[31]
	Dental Practice Management related strategies	Ground-level Strategies	Reviewing Expenditure	[19]
			Waste Segregation	[1, 2, 36]
			Collect and Recycle Stone	[33]
			Run dishwashers/washing machines when full	[33]
			Storage by digitization	[1, 30]
		Infrastructural Strategies	Energy saving-electric hand driers	[1, 37]
			LED sensors for lighting/LED Lighting	[1, 37]
			Solar Panels to power practice	[37]
			Rainwater collection tank	[35]
			Green Impact Toolkit recommendation	[35]
		Staff related strategies	Incentivize staff/patients to use low carbon transport options	[30]
			Increase environmental awareness and in-house sustainability initiatives	[1, 29, 37]
			Awareness on glove usage with clear guidelines	[29, 36]
			Action research	[1]
	Policy related strategies		Involve all stakeholders	[29, 37]
			Regulations to alter behaviour towards sustainability	[29]
			Subsidizing sustainable alternatives to disposable/single-use items	[36]
Challenges for sustainability			Infection control protocols	[1, 2, 29]
			Initial financial investment	[35]
Future research areas	Dental material related research		Surface Disinfectant alternatives	[33]
			Alternatives to single use items like stainless steel or biodegradable materials like bamboo	[7, 36]
			Biomimetic restorative solutions	[7]
			Environment friendly medicaments	[7]
	Research Methodology		Life cycle analysis	[8]
			Action Research	[1]