The presence of Helicobacter Pylori in dental plaque of children and their parents: is it related to their periodontal status and oral hygiene?

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ABSTRACT

Aim

To investigate the possible presence of H. pylori in subgingival dental plaque of children with upper
gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as of their parents' and to detect any association between the presence of H. pylori and
oral hygiene together with the periodontal status of children and their parents.

Methods

The study
comprised of 35 children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms, aged 4 to 14 years and 45 family members (mothers and/or
fathers). Gastric biopsies were collected from all children for CLO-test, histology and culture. Serology was used to assess
the H. pylori infection status of their parents. Before endoscopy, subgingival dental plaque from children and their parents
were collected from 4 healthy and 4 diseased sites, and the clinical indices (gingival index, plaque index, bleeding on
probing, pocket depth, loss of clinical attachment) after plaque collection were recorded. Statistics: The Chi-square test was
performed to investigate possible differences between children and their parents and logistic regression analysis was used
to evaluate the association of parental infection status with that of children.

Results

15 out of 35 children (42.86)
were found H. pylori-positive. In 6 out of the 15 infected children (40) H. pylori was also identified in their
subgingival plaque samples, as well as in one among the 20 non infected children. The presence of H. pylori in dental
plaque was significantly associated with its presence in the gastric antrum (p=0.0274). H. pylori was identified in the dental
plaque of 7 mothers corresponding to children with positive PCR in their dental plaque and of 4 fathers (one corresponding
with his child found H. pylori positive in dental plaque). Children who had H. pylori identified in their dental plaque
belonged to families with members also having H. pylori in dental plaque. No significant relationship between periodontal
clinical parameters and detection of H. pylori in dental plaque in both children and their parents was found. However, the
presence of H. pylori in the subgingival plaque samples was significantly correlated with the parental diseased sites
(p=0.02).

Conclusion

H. pylori was detected in subgingival dental plaque of children and their families, possibly acting
as a "reservoir" contributing to the intra-familial spread. Efficient oral hygiene and healthy periodontal status could reduce
this transmission.

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