WASHINGTON, US: Covering everything, including composite fillings and disposable suction tips, plastics are woven into all aspects of modern dental care. Yet a growing body of evidence is raising alarms about microplastics—tiny fragments less than 5 mm in size—that not only pollute the environment but may also pose risks to human health. Dentistry, long reliant on plastic-based materials, is coming under scrutiny as researchers and campaigners question how these particles move from the chairside to the wider ecosystem.