Acquisition and transmission of mutans streptococci.

Dental caries is an infectious and transmissible disease. The mutans streptococci and some Lactobacillus species are the two groups of infectious agents most strongly associated with dental caries. Earlier studies demonstrated that infants acquire mutans streptococci from their mothers and only after the eruption of primary teeth. More recent studies indicate that mutans streptococci can colonize the mouths of predentate infants and that horizontal, as well as vertical, transmission does occur. These findings will likely facilitate the development of clinical strategies to prevent or delay infant infection by these organisms, thereby reducing the prevalence of dental caries.