BACKGROUND AND AIM:The health sector, whose mission is to protect and promote health, is one of the main contributors to the climate crisis, therefore, it has an important role to play in its resolution. The climate footprint of the sector is equivalent to 4.4% of global emissions. When reviewing the scientific literature, no studies were found on attitudes towards Sustainable Dentistry in Latin America and the Caribbean, either among health professionals or patients. This lack of information represents a significant gap in knowledge, making it difficult to fully understand the challenges that dentistry presents as a profession. Our research objective was to describe the attitudes of users about Sustainable Dentistry in Talca, Chile in 2023.

METHOD:The study design was a descriptive observational study, including 213 dental clinic users aged 18 and above from both the public and private systems in Talca, Chile, between August and September 2023. Patients were invited to participate and complete the Baird et al. (2022) questionnaire on attitudes towards sustainable dentistry. Answers to the questions are on a scale of from 1 to 5. The variables were attitudes towards Sustainable Dentistry, gender, age, educational level, employment, last visit to the dentist and self-perception of oral health. Exploratory, univariate, and bivariate analysis were performed. Ethics approval for the study was given by the Scientific Ethical Committee, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Talca.

RESULTS:The analysis revealed that users hold positive attitudes toward Sustainable Dentistry. Moreover, the educational level and the timing of the last dental visit were found to be significant (p < 0,05). CONCLUSIONS:Users demonstrate a willingness to opt for more environmentally friendly treatments. However, limitations arise when compromising the duration and aesthetics of their treatments.

Authors acknowledge the financial support from the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID), InES-Género project INGE210025 Keywords: Sustainability, Community participation, Epidemiology