Dental plaque (DP) is a biofilm providing an environment similar to what H. pylori (H.p.) needs. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of plaque control in the therapy of H. pylori-related gastric ulcer. Methods: Forty-two patients (age. 19-76 y/o, mean 51.86; 23 males, 19 females) who received gastric endoscopic biopsy were enrolled. The exclusion criteria were as follows: edentulous, previous gastrointestinal tract surgery, medication that may alter the results (include PPI, antibiotics and bismuth salts) within one month (pre-treatment patients only). Gastric specimens obtained from the antrum and body were assessed by rapid urease test, culture, histology and 13C urea breath test. Gastric H.p. infection was confirmed when the culture was positive or a concordance of two of the other three tests was positive. At the same day of endoscopy, DP specimens were collected and then assessed by polymerase chain reaction (cog A gene). Results: In patients who received full mouth scaling and oral hygiene instruction, the percentage of H.p.(+) before eradication therapy and (-) after therapy were 44% (X2=3.9271, df=1, p=0.0475 for trend) and 48% (X2=1.222, df=3, p=0.3308) in dental plaque and stomach respectively. The plaque index, gingival index and probing depth of gastric H.p. (+) patients were significantly higher than gastric H.p. (-) patients (t test, p=0.0005, p=0.0011 and p=0.0473 respectively). Conclusions: a) oral cavity might be a reservoir of H.p.; b) plaque control has a tendency towards eradication of H.p.; c) oral hygiene is important to gastric H.p. infection status. (Supported by NSC 92-2314-B-037-024, Taiwan)

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