The presence of Helicobacter pylori in oral cavities of patients with leukoplakia and oral lichen planus

Abstract

Objective Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the most common bacterial infections in men. This gastrointestinal pathogen is closely related to gastritis, peptic ulcers, and the increased risk of gastric cancer. Numerous studies have indicated oral cavities as possible Helicobacter pylori reservoirs. Helicobacter pylori has been detected both in supragingival and subgingival plaques, and also in saliva. In addition, the relationship between lesions of oral mucosa and the presence of H. pylori has been evaluated and described in some studies. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Helicobacter pylori DNA in the oral cavity of patients with oral leukoplakia and oral lichen planus.Material and Methods The study included 54 patients with oral leukoplakia, 72 with oral lichen planus lesions, and 40 healthy controls. The presence of Helicobacter pylori in oral cavity samples was analyzed using a single-step Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. All patients underwent a periodontal examination and the following clinical parameters were collected: pocket depth, bleeding, and plaque indexes. The periodontal status was assessed using the Offenbacher classification.Results In most patients, pathological lesions were in typical sites on the buccal mucosa (leukoplakia in 88%, and oral lichen planus in 93% of patients). The DNA of the Helicobacter pylori was present in 20% of patients with leukoplakia and 23% of patients with lichen planus. We did not find the DNA of H. pylori in healthy controls. The periodontal status described by periodontal indices was worse in the investigated group than in the control group.Conclusion These findings suggest that the H. pylori presence in oral cavities may be related with leukoplakia and lichen planus oral lesions.

Dysbiosis of oral buccal mucosa microbiota in patients with oral lichen planus

“…Helicobacter pylori is one of the most susceptible infection factors of OLP. Both positive and negative relations between H. pylori infection and OLP occurrence have been reported by different detection methods (Attia et al , ; Pourshahidi et al , ; Kazanowska‐Dygdala et al , ). In our research, g. Helicobacter , the genus which H. pylori belongs to, showed low abundance both in OLP and BC group and no significant difference can be detected.…”

Oral Helicobacter pylori: Interactions with host and microbial flora of the oral cavity

“…The potential of these microorganisms to promote inflammatory conditions in the oral environment was proposed on this basis. 34 There is also a relationship between the presence of pathological gingival pockets and H. pylori infections. Umeda et al found that in patients with gastric H. pylori infection, the detection frequency of these bacteria in the oral cavity was 4-fold higher (41.2%) when patients had gingiva with a pocket depth of ≥4 mm than those with healthy periodontium (9.1%).…”

Chicken or the Egg: Microbial Alterations in Biopsy Samples of Patients with Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders

“…The role of torque teno virus (TTV) [9,10], Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) [11] and Candida albicans [8,[12][13][14][15][16] in leukoplakia development and carcinogenesis remains to be clarified, too. Additionally, it has been also demonstrated that specific bacterial infections like Helicobacter pylori [17] or the intracellular Mycoplasma salivarium [18] could also be involved in this process.…”