Dentists Are at a Higher Risk for Oral Helicobacter pylori Infection

Oral cavity has been taken as one of the major reservoirs for Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria responsible for gastric infection and cancers. Dentists are frequently exposed to saliva; thus, theoretically, they are at a higher risk for oral H. pylori infection. In the present study, to test this hypothesis and to find out the potential factors associated with the increased risk, a cross-sectional study was carried out on a large scale of dentists (N=90) and nondentist controls (N=110). By using nested polymerase chain reaction to amplify a specific DNA fragment of H. pylori, we found 7.27% of saliva samples from the nondentist group and 16.67% of saliva samples from the dentist group were oral H. pylori positive, and the difference between groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.292, p=0.038). Importantly, however, after stratifying enrolled subjects with factors which might interfere with the comparison of H. pylori detection rate between groups, we still observed a higher H. pylori frequency in the dentists than that in the controls in subgroups, including those with good individual hygiene, healthy lifestyle, and physical condition, as well as those living with families to be gastric disease free and not sharing meals with H. pylori-positive persons, respectively. Moreover, the frequency of clinical practice per week of the investigated dentists was closely associated with an oral H. pylori infection risk. Our data indicates that dentists are at a higher risk for H. pylori infection, and intensive attention needs to be paid on this issue.