Methods: The authors searched Bireme, Medline, ISI, Cochrane Library and the internet for papers from 1984-2004. The main
search terms were 'obesity' and 'dental caries'. The inclusion criteria were studies that defined obesity (body mass index) and
dental caries (total number of decayed, and filled teeth – DFT/DFS/dft/dfs) in their subjects. The following were excluded from
this paper: articles on reviews, dietary guidelines, policy statements, papers related to oral health and nutrition deficiency –
underweight, and with no relation between obesity and dental caries prevalence or dental health problems