Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) initially enters the human body through the mouth. The correlation between oral health and H. pylori infection status remains a topic of debate in the scientific literature. To elucidate the relationships between H. pylori infection and oral hygiene status and habits, we performed a cross-sectional study among dyspeptic patients.

Data were collected from 362 subjects with dyspepsia symptoms who underwent the 13C-urea breath test (13C-UBT) and the H. pylori antigen test (HPS) to test for gastric and oral H. pylori infections between May and August 2023 at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. The participants completed questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, dyspepsia symptoms, oral hygiene status, and oral hygiene practices. In addition, the participants underwent oral exams involving the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), the Debris index (DI-S), the simplified calculus index (CI-S), and the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) score.

Oral H. pylori infection status was not associated with sex, body mass index (BMI), education, oral hygiene habits, place of residence, or income. Considering sex and BMI, being over 60 years of age significantly increased the risk of developing oral H. pylori infection (OR = 5.51, 95% CI: 1.56-19.46, P = .0081), whereas a lack of history of antibiotic use was identified as a protective factor (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.26-0.77, P = .0036). Additionally, DMFT >4 (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.15-5.61, P = .0210), 0.67 < OHI-S ≤ 1.33 (OR = 1.98, 95% CI: 1.09-3.59, P = .0246), and 0.33

CONCLUSION

The results of our research indicate a relationship between oral health and oral H. pylori infection, suggesting that poor oral hygiene may be associated with an increased risk of oral H. pylori colonization.

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Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection affects approximately 50% of the global population. The predominant route of H. pylori transmission is through the oral pathway, making the oral cavity highly significant in its infection. This review focuses on the relationship between H. pylori and oral diseases, the influence of H. pylori infection on the oral microbiota, and the potential mechanisms involving certain oral pathogens.

To identify relevant studies, we conducted searches in PubMed, Google Scholar using keywords such as "Helicobacter pylori," "oral diseases, " "oral microorganisms, " without any date restrictions. The retrieved publications were subject to a review.

H. pylori infection is positively correlated with the occurrence of various oral diseases, such as dental caries, periodontitis, and oral lichen planus. H. pylori may affect the oral microbiota through various mechanisms, and there exists an interactive relationship between H. pylori and oral bacteria, including Streptococcus, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), and Candida albicans (C. albicans).

H. pylori infection has a close relationship with certain oral diseases. H. pylori modulates oral microflora diversity and structure, while eradication therapy and medications have varying impacts on oral microbiota.

The oral cavity may play a role as a reservoir and in the transmission and colonization of Helicobacter pylori. The route of transmission for H. pylori is not fully understood. The prevalence of this pathogen varies globally, affecting half of the world's population, predominantly in developing countries. Here, we review the prevalence of H. pylori in the oral cavity, the characteristics that facilitate its colonization and dynamics in the oral microbiome, the heterogeneity and diversity of virulence of among strains, and noninvasive techniques for H. pylori detection in oral samples. The prevalence of H. pylori in the oral cavity varies greatly, being influenced by the characteristics of the population, regions where samples are collected in the oral cavity, and variations in detection methods. Although there is no direct association between the presence of H. pylori in oral samples and stomach infection, positive cases for gastric H. pylori frequently exhibit a higher prevalence of the bacterium in the oral cavity, suggesting that the stomach may not be the sole reservoir of H. pylori. In the oral cavity, H. pylori can cause microbiome imbalance and remodeling of the oral ecosystem. Detection of H. pylori in the oral cavity by a noninvasive method may provide a more accessible diagnostic tool as well as help prevent transmission and gastric re-colonization. Further research into this bacterium in the oral cavity will offer insights into the treatment of H. pylori infection, potentially developing new clinical approaches.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has coevolved with its human host for more than 100 000 years. It can safely colonize around the epithelium of gastric glands via their specific microstructures and proteins. Unless patients receive eradication treatment, H. pylori infection is always lifelong. However, few studies have discussed the reasons. This review will focus on the adhesion of H. pylori from the oral cavity to gastric mucosa and summarize the possible binding and translocation characteristics. Adhesion is the first step for persistent colonization after the directional motility, and factors related to adhesion are necessary. Outer membrane proteins, such as the blood group antigen binding adhesin (BabA) and the sialic acid binding adhesin (SabA), play pivotal roles in binding to human mucins and cellular surfaces. And this may offer different perspectives on eradication.

The oral cavity is the second most colonized site of Helicobacter pylori after the stomach. This study aimed to compare the genetic relatedness between gastric and oral H. pylori in Japanese patients with early gastric cancer through multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis using eight housekeeping genes. Gastric biopsy specimens and oral samples were collected from 21 patients with a fecal antigen test positive for H. pylori. The number of H. pylori allelic profiles ranged from zero to eight since the yield of DNA was small even when the nested PCR was performed. MLST analysis revealed that only one patient had a matching oral and gastric H. pylori genotype, suggesting that different genotypes of H. pylori inhabit the oral cavity and gastric mucosa. The phylogenetic analysis showed that oral H. pylori in six patients was similar to gastric H. pylori, implying that the two strains are related but not of the same origin, and those strains may be infected on separate occasions. It is necessary to establish a culture method for oral H. pylori to elucidate whether the oral cavity acts as the source of gastric infection, as our analysis was based on a limited number of allele sequences.

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, helix-shaped, and microaerophilic bacteria that colonizes the human gastric mucosa, causing chronic infections, gastritis, peptic ulcer, lymphomas associated with lymphoid mucosa tissue, and gastric cancer. H. pylori is considered a Type 1 human carcinogen by WHO. The prevalence of the infection is estimated in more than half of the world population. Treatment of H. pylori infection includes antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors, but the increasing antibiotic resistance promotes the research of novel, more effective, and natural antibacterial compounds. The aim of this work was to study the effect of the partially purified proteolytic extract (RAP) of the fruits from Solanum granuloso-leprosum (Dunal), a South American native plant, and a purified fraction named granulosain I, against H. pylori, to obtain natural food additives for the production of anti-H. pylori functional foods. Furthermore, granulosain I and RAP could be used as natural adjuncts to conventional therapies. Granulosain I and RAP antibacterial activity was evaluated as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against H. pylori NCTC 11638 (reference strain) and twelve H. pylori wild strains, using a microdilution plating technique (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute). All the strains tested were susceptible to granulosain I with MIC from 156.25 to 312.5 μg/mL and MBC from 312.5 to 625 μg/mL, respectively. Besides, all the strains tested were susceptible to the RAP with MIC from 312.5 to 625 μg/mL and MBC from 625 to 1,250 μg/mL, respectively. The effect of granulosain I and RAP on the transcription of H. pylori genes encoding pathogenic factors, omp18, ureA, and flaA, with respect to a housekeeping gene (16S rRNA), was evaluated by RT-PCR technique. The band intensity between pathogenic factors and control gene was correlated under treated or untreated conditions, using the ImageJ program. Granulosain I and RAP significantly decreased the expression of pathogenic factors: omp18, ureA, and flaA. The combined inhibitory effect of granulosain I or RAP and an antibiotic such as, amoxicillin (AML, 10 μg), clarithromycin (CLA, 15 μg), levofloxacin (LEV, 5 μg), and metronidazole (MTZ, 5 μg) was evaluated, using the agar diffusion technique. Granulosain I and RAP showed significant synergistic effect on AML, CLA, and LEV, but no significant effect on MTZ was observed. Besides, granulosain I and RAP did not show toxicological effects at the concentrations studied. Finally, granulosain I and RAP could be used as safe natural food additives and as adjuvants for conventional therapies against H. pylori.