Immunization against dental caries.

Dental caries is one of the most common infectious diseases. Of the oral bacteria, mutans streptococci, such as Streptococcus mutans and S. sobrinus, are considered to be causative agents of dental caries in humans. There have been numerous studies of the immunology of mutans streptococci. To control dental caries, dental caries vaccines have been produced using various cell-surface antigens of these organisms. Progress in recombinant DNA technology and peptide synthesis has been applied to the development of recombinant and synthetic peptide vaccines to control dental caries. Significant protective effects against dental caries have been shown in experimental animals, such as mice, rats and monkeys, which have been subcutaneously, orally, or intranasally immunized with these antigens. Only a few studies, however, have examined the efficacy of dental caries vaccines in humans. Recently, local passive immunization using murine monoclonal antibodies, transgenic plant antibodies, egg-yolk antibodies, and bovine milk antibodies to antigens of mutans streptococci have been used to control the colonization of the organisms and the induction of dental caries in human. Such immunization procedures may be a safer approach for controlling human dental caries than active immunization.