[Dental status and efficacy of Helicobacter pylori eradication]

Beside stomach Helicobacter pylori can colonize the oral cavity. One may think, therefore, that if H. pylori persists the eradication therapy in the oral cavity, it could infect the stomach again. Since in the oral cavity H. pylori occurs most frequently in a dental plaque gathering on teeth, the aim of the study was to investigate whether the natural teeth status is important for the efficacy of H. pylori eradication. The study was conducted on 45 peptic ulcer patients with natural teeth. They were eradicated with one of two regimens: 1/OAT-omeprazole (2 x 20 mg), amoxicillin (2 x 1000 mg), tinidazole (2 x 500 mg) (14-day course), 2/OAC-omeprazole (2 x 20 mg), amoxicillin (2 x 1000 mg), clarithromycin (2 x 250 mg) (7-day course). Dentistry examination was performed 4-6 weeks after the end of eradication therapy and consisted of determination of the number of teeth, caries index, dental treatment index, plaque index, and periodontal index. It was found that in successfully eradicated patients with OAT regimen, the number of teeth was higher and caries index lower than in those whose eradication therapy was unsuccessful; 24.8 +/- 5.2 vs 15.5 +/- 8.6 (p < 0.01) and 31.4% vs 46.0% (p < 0.01), respectively. The number of teeth and caries index were not associated with the efficacy of H. pylori eradication in OAC treated group. Irrespectively of the eradication regimen used, OAT or OAC, dental treatment index, plaque index, and periodontal index were not associated with the efficacy of H. pylori eradication. It is concluded that the natural teeth status may have influence on the outcome of H. pylori eradication. One should remember about this prescribing drugs for H. pylori eradication.