Halitosis: Helicobacter pylori or oral factors.

INTRODUCTION: Halitosis is a common complaint among people which has various socioeconomic effects. The prevalence of halitosis includes a variety of 22% up to 50% in different societies. According to studies, there have been reports of remarkable improvements in halitosis after Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment. In studies on the relationship between H. Pylori and halitosis, the role of oral factors as the most important cause of halitosis has been neglected. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of oral factors on halitosis in patients with H. Pylori. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 dyspeptic patients who had H. pylori-positive serologic test were examined by an organoleptic method for the presence of halitosis. DMFT index was used in order to record the dental status. Oral hygiene was evaluated using the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S). RESULTS: The mean DMFT index was 9.09 ± 3.97. The score of simplified oral hygiene index was 1.79 ± 0.949. There was a direct and significant relationship between halitosis with DMFT, OHI-S (P < 0.01). There was no significant relationship between halitosis and coated tongue (P > 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, there is a relation between oral factors and halitosis in patients with positive H. pylori test. Due to the lower level of all these indices in patients with halitosis, we cannot attribute halitosis in patients with H. pylori infection to the presence of this microorganism with certainty.

Clinical Evaluation of Effects of Local Application of Aloe vera Gel as an Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planning in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Aloe vera gel contains various components with antibiotic and anti-inflammatory characteristics, which may have potential advantages to treat periodontal diseases. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of local application of aloe vera gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planning in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This single-blind clinical trial, performed in a split mouth design, was conducted on 20 patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. Following a baseline examination at first day which included the assessments of plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and probing depth (PD); patients randomly received either SRP in one quadrant (control group), or SRP combined with aloe vera gel in another quadrant (experimental group). All cases were examined again, assessing PI, GI, and PD at 30th and 60th day. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in PI in the three stages between control and experimental groups. In all patients, there was a significant improvement in the three stages in GI and PD for both quadrants treated only with SRP or combination of SRP and aloe vera. However, experimental group presented significantly lower GI (p= 0.0001) and PD (p= 0.009) than the control group at the end of study period. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that local application of aloe vera gel could be considered as an adjunctive treatment with scaling and root planning for chronic periodontitis.