title: Solving the etiology of dental caries.
abstract: For decades, the sugar-fermenting, acidogenic species Streptococcus mutans has been considered the main causative agent of dental caries and most diagnostic and therapeutic strategies have been targeted toward this microorganism. However, recent DNA- and RNA-based studies from carious lesions have uncovered an extraordinarily diverse ecosystem where S. mutans accounts only a tiny fraction of the bacterial community. This supports the concept that consortia formed by multiple microorganisms act collectively, probably synergistically, to initiate and expand the cavity. Thus, antimicrobial therapies are not expected to be effective in the treatment of caries and other polymicrobial diseases that do not follow classical Koch's postulates.
authors.affiliation: FISABIO Foundation, Center for Advanced Research in Public Health, Avda Cataluña 21, 46020 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Aurea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simón-Soro
authors.affiliation: FISABIO Foundation, Center for Advanced Research in Public Health, Avda Cataluña 21, 46020 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: mira_ale@gva.es.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mira
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D060085:Coinfection / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Koch's postulates; dysbiosis; metatranscriptomics; pathobiont; tooth decay