The Spit Bowl

Depending upon your age, you may remember sitting in the dental chair and to your left was a bowl that was used to spit in. (The correct name for this bowl is a cuspidor.) Ever wonder why most dental offices no longer use them? It’s pretty simple if you think about it…first, the running water. It ran and ran and ran all day long. While you may think this washed out bacteria and other gook, think again, and that thought may make you say ICK, hence the second reason dental offices no longer use the spit bowl. Ick.

At Smile Sarasota, it goes unsaid that we practice the latest sterilization techniques. But also, we are very conscious of not wasting resources and not polluting the environment. All our paper records are now digital and we no longer use paper charts. We confirm appointments electronically to help eliminate mailing postcard reminders and appointment cards.

We have been using digital X-rays for many years and this eliminated all the developing chemicals. We have not used amalgam (which contains mercury) for many, many years. We are switching to LED lights to save energy. And…we DO NOT use the spit bowl – this can save up to 500 gallons per day, per treatment room! Our office is committed to continuing our efforts to make a difference to our environment.

“We never know the worth of water until the well is dry”. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732