title: The relationship between recurrent aphthous stomatitis, and periodontal disease and Helicobacter Pylori infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common oral mucosal disease with unknown etiology. This cross-sectional study aimed to test the hypothesis that Helicobacter pylori and periodontal disease might play an etiological role in RAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dental plaque samples obtained from 38 patients with RAS and 43 healthy individuals via periodontal examinations were examined for H. pylori colonization. H. pylori was identified using the rapid urease test (RUT). The periodontal status of the patients and controls was based on the following periodontal parameters: periodontal pocket depth (PPD), the plaque index (PI), the gingival index (GI), and clinical attachment loss (CAL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  RUT results were positive in 34 (89.5 %) of the 38 patients and 24 (55.8 %) of the 43 controls (P = 0.002). There were not any significant differences in mean PPD, PI, GI, or CAL between the patient and control groups (P > 0.05). Mean PPD, PI, GI, and CAL were higher in the RUT-positive RAS patients than in the RUT-negative patients (P > 0.05, for all).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings show that H. pylori might have played an etiological role in RAS and might have caused periodontal disease, but RAS was not associated with any of the periodontal parameters examined in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study indicates that H. pylori plays a role in the development of RAS, but periodontal diseases have no effect on it. Eradicating H. pylori might be useful to prevent RAS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Ankara Polatlı Duatepe State Hospital, Şentepe Mah. Hasan Polatkan Cad. B Blok, Polatlı, Ankara, Turkey. duygu_gulsrn@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gülseren
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karaduman
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Aksaray Oral and Dental Health Hospital, Aksaray, Turkey.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kutsal
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nohutcu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Aphthous stomatitis; Helicobacter pylori; dental plaque; periodontal disease