code: public boolean tableExists(String table)
  		throws SQLException
  	{
  
  		PreparedStatement statement = null;
  		ResultSet result = null;
  		try {
  			statement = this.connection.prepareStatement("SHOW TABLES;");
  			result = execute(statement);
  
  			if (result == null) {
  				return false;
  			}
  			boolean found = false;
  			while(result.next()){
  					if(table.equalsIgnoreCase(result.getString(1))){
  						found = true;
  					}
  			}
  			return found;
  
  		}
  		finally {
  			if (statement != null) {
  				statement.close();
  			}
  			if (result != null) {
  				result.close();
  			}
  		}
  
  	}
docs: Checks if a specific table exists
  
  @param table
  the table to check
  
  @return true, if table exists, false else
  @throws SQLException
  if an error occurs connecting to or querying the db