Molecular Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori in Dental Plaque among Jordanians; A Probable Source for Infection and Treatment Failure

The human pathogen Helicobacter pylori infects around 50% of the global population. Significant proportion of infected individuals with H. pylori can undergo gastritis or gastric adenocarcinoma. The major source and reservoir of infection and transmission with H. pylori is not fully understood, yet. Oral cavity has been proposed to be a reservoir for H. pylori and possibly a major source of gastric reinfection; however, the results are still controversial. In this study a total of sixty Jordanian individuals were tested for the presence of H. pylori in their dental plaques. Samples were analyzed by PCR to detect for the presence of H. pylori using specific primers for H. pylori 16s ribosomal RNA gene. Our data show that all individuals tested in this study were found positive for H. pylori. Although, individuals tested in this study were heterogeneous in term of age, sex, education, and geographical region but this did not influence the presence ofH. pylori in the dental plaque of Jordanians. The results of the present study suggest that the oral reinfection route of transmission of H. pylori should be taken into consideration because it may explain the high prevalence of H. pylori associated gastritis in Jordanian people.