Caries vaccine: current reality or remote future?

Dental caries remains a public health problem in developing countries requiring effective strategies to combat this disease. Caries vaccines showed promising results in experimental studies; however, it remains far the effective use in humans due to political-economic and ethical issues. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on the main research projects aimed at developing caries vaccines. The following topics will be covered: virulence and cariogenicity of Streptococcus mutans, caries vaccine, animal models for testing caries vaccines, caries vaccine types, and replacement or substitution therapy and future prospects.