Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Dental Plaque of Orphan Children, Mexico

Objectives: Helicobacter pylori is distributed worldwide and it is particulary found in developing countries. Transmission through contaminated food, water or a general inadequate sanitation practice and poverty, appear to be associated with a higher prevalence of H. pylori infection. Recently, it has been reported the existence of H. pylori in oral cavity of apparently healthy pediatric patients. The oral cavity is probably involved in H. pylori transmission. The AIM of this study was to detect the prevalence of H. pylori in dental plaque of orphan children of the Back2Back network, Monterrey, Mexico.
Methods: From November to December 2014, 100 orphan children from the Back2Back non-profit organization at Monterrey city, Mexico, were selected to participate in this study. Prior to selection, informed consent form was obtained from guardians and authorities. Dental plaque was collected with a sterile bamboo skewer by a downward scrape against vestibular surface of superior first molar and suspended in trypticase soy broth supplemented with 30% glycerol and storage at -20°C, then total DNA was extracted using a High Pure PCR template preparation kit (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The presence of H. pylori was detected using a primer for 16s rRNA gene by quantitative PCR. The data were analyzed using SPSS v22 software and p values were calculated using Chi-square and F test, P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Out of 100 dental plaque samples, 38% were confirmed to be H. pylori positive by qPCR. 6 to 8 years old (P<0.05) and male patients (P<0.05) were significantly associated with H. pylori infection.
Conclusions: The prevalence of H. pylori infection was strongly related to age and gender. This study suggests that to
prevent or eradicate H. pylori infection, we need to focus on oral hygiene and prevention of oral problems.