Oral microecological community- Streptococcus mutans dysbiosis and interaction provide therapeutic perspectives for dental caries

Objective

This review aims to provide an overview of the dysbiosis and interaction between Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and other Streptococci, Veillonella spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Candida albicans in the oral cavity, which is a major driver of cariogenicity.

Design

The search for this narrative review was conducted in databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, employing keywords like "Dental caries," "Streptococcus mutans," "Commensal Streptococci," "Veillonella," "Lactobacillus," "Candida albicans," and "Interaction" while manually retrieving the reference lists of journal articles.

Results

Dental caries has a high prevalence and low treatment rate in the population, which poses a great burden to public health and the social economy. The etiology of dental caries is closely linked to the imbalance of oral microbial communities. S. mutans is the major pathogen of dental caries. The cariogenic mechanism of S. mutans is primarily related to acid production and acid resistance, as well as polysaccharide production, adhesion, colonization, and the formation of cariogenic biofilm. However, there are complex interactions between S. mutans and other symbiotic microorganisms in the oral cavity, which synergistically or antagonistically affect the pathogenicity of microorganisms.

Conclusion

The interactions between S. mutans and oral commensal microorganisms on the microecology provide an in-depth understanding of the etiology of cariogenicity and new pathways for multiple caries prevention and treatment, such as hydrogen peroxide, arginine, farnesol, and probiotics.