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Br Dent J 2016:221: 251–255 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.644

The UK adult population obesity rate is increasing year on year indicating devastating future effects on not only general health, but oral health too. In 2011 24% of men and 26% of women were obese and it is predicted that by 2050 this will have risen to a worrying 60% of men and 50% of women. Therefore, it is vitally important that dentists also consider the implications that this will have on the delivery of dental care.

Here, Marshman et al. have undertaken a literature review to attempt to answer the question 'what are the implications of obesity in the delivery and acceptance of dental care for adults?' They demonstrate a number of implications ranging from an increase in dental disease (periodontitis and dental caries being the most likely), to difficulties in the logistics of delivering care, for example, the increase in time needed for each dental visit due to the immobility of the patients and difficulty in accessing the mouth because of extra weight around the face. They even present the idea that special equipment may be needed to accommodate obese patients such as larger dental chairs. Obese patients also have the potential to cause extra stress for the dentist because of compromised airways and difficulty in safely sedating them.

Unfortunately, there was a lack of evidence related to patient perspectives and service delivery implications and, surprisingly, the authors discover that little research has been done on the subject even though obesity often hits the UK media headlines.

Ultimately, the authors suggest that dentists need to prepare for an increase in obese patients by ensuring that their training and equipment is appropriate for delivering care to them, and that they could also help prevent obesity by delivering dietary advice.