Detection of Helicobacter pylori in Saliva of Patient with Oral Lichen Planus

Lichen planus is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and mucous membrane for which no precise causes have been confirmed. But it is often connected with infections. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) among various bacteria has been associated with the cause of gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Considering the similarities of histological features between gastric ulcer and oral ulcers, it is resonable to assume that H. pylori might also be involved in the development oral mucosal ulceration. So we employed this study to investigate the possible involvement of H. pylori in the aetiology of erosive oral lichen planus. We analyzed detection rate of H. pylori in saliva of patients with erosive oral lichen planus by nested PCR. As a result, it revealed a significant difference statistically by showing positivity in 16 to 21 (76.2%) saliva samples of patients group and in 11 of 44 (25%) saliva samples of control group (P>0.001). We were able to suppose that H. pylori in saliva can be related to cause of erosive oral lichen planus.