Abstract

Helicobacter pylori is a spiral gram negative bacterium that normally grows in the stomach, and is the main causal agent of gastritis and peptic ulcers. In 1994, The International Agency for Research on Cancer recognized H. pylori as a carcinogenic factor for stomach cancer. The oral cavity has been proposed as a reservoir for H. pylori and several authors have demonstrated the presence in adult patients of the organism in saliva and dental plaque. However, isolation of H. pylori in children is still questionable. Several investigators have reported the presence of H. pylori in the dental plaque of children, sometimes associated with gastro-esophageal reflux. These isolations has been realized by polymerase chain reaction were gold standard is the culture. On the other hand, many authors have failed to isolate H. pylori by culture in samples obtained from the saliva or dental plaque. We performed an extensive review of the literature to facilitate future research in this controversial topic.

Key words: Helicobacter pylori, children, dental plaque, polymerase chain reaction, urease breathe test.