The prevalence of dental caries remains high, posing a major burden on the public health of the global society. Microorganisms are the main cause of dental caries, among which Streptococcus mutans ( S. mutans) is one of the most widely recognized cariogenic bacteria. In recent years, the progress in research technology enabled the academic circle to conduct more in-depth research into caries-inducing S. mutans at the DNA, RNA and protein levels, and to gain thereby a new understanding of the surface structure and extracellular matrix composition of S. mutans. In this paper, we summarized recent findings on the cariogenic mechanism of S. mutans in order to help reveal more targets and potential approaches for the future development of caries prevention agents that target S. mutans, and to promote the development of dental caries prevention campaign.
龋病患病率居高不下，已成为累及全球社会公共卫生的重大负担。微生物是诱发龋病的主要原因，其中变异链球菌是目前公认的主要致龋菌之一。近年来，研究技术的进步使得学术界对变异链球菌致龋相关DNA、RNA和蛋白层面的研究更加深入，也对变异链球菌表面结构和细菌外基质组成有了新的认识。本文总结了近年来变异链球菌致龋机制相关研究的新进展，以期为未来开发以变异链球菌为靶标的防龋制剂揭示更多的靶点和可能途径，推动龋病预防事业的发展。
Keywords: Caries prevention; Cariogenic bacteria; Cariogenic mechanism; Dental caries; Streptococcus mutans.
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