‘Use a Thorn to Draw Thorn’ Replacement Therapy for Prevention of Dental Caries

Despite the use of conventional physical and chemotherapeutic agents for caries management, dental caries still continues to be the most prevalent oral infectious disease. Thus, there is a need of additional caries prevention approaches. Strain replacement therapy is one such novel approach. In this, relatively avirulent strains of Streptococcus mutans produced by recombinant DNA technology are implanted into the oral cavity. These may either interfere with the colonization of, or compete with the indigenous cariogenic mutans streptococci. This technique might provide a cost-effective, long-term means of achieving tailor made protection for the host against dental caries.