A scoping review of the implications of adult obesity in the delivery and acceptance of dental care.

Background Due to the increasing prevalence of obesity within the general population it is presumed that the prevalence of overweight and obese adults accessing dental services will also increase. For this reason dentists need to be aware of implications of managing such patients.Methods A scoping review was carried out. Both Medline via OVID and Scopus databases were searched along with grey literature databases and the websites of key organizations. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established. The data were collected on a purpose-made data collection form and analysed descriptively.Results The review identified 28 relevant published articles and two relevant items of grey literature. Following review of this literature three themes relating to adult obesity in the delivery and acceptance of dental care emerged; clinical, service delivery and patient implications. The majority of the papers focused on the clinical implications.Conclusion On the topic of adult obesity and dental care, the majority of published and grey literature focuses on the clinical implications. Further research is needed on both the patients' perspectives of being overweight or obese and the delivery and acceptance of dental care and the service delivery implications.