The bacterium Streptococcus ... considered S. mutans the cause of dental caries (tooth decay) and by the mid-1970s, scientists were developing a caries vaccine from whole bacterial cells.

The bacteria -- Streptococcus mutans-- metabolise sugars from food ... The team worked out the 3D structure of the enzyme -- called Sortase A -- which allows the bacteria to make biofilms.

They're filled with more than 600 species of bacteria. Most of them are harmless. But in terms of tooth decay, one critter is the major culprit: Streptococcus mutans. These bacteria take sugars in ...

His team collected saliva samples from toddlers with severe tooth decay and found natural assemblages of Streptococcus mutans bacteria and ... that propelled the structure forward as it grew.

Mucus – part of the 0.5% of saliva that is not water – contains salivary mucins, compounds that actively protect teeth from damage by the cavity-causing bacterium Streptococcus mutans ...

Even after all these years, the teeth offered some eye-opening insights into the bacteria of yesteryears. The teeth had loads of Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium we know today for causing cavities.

Previously, these researchers found that a different bacteria that causes tooth decay, Streptococcus mutans, was associated with a higher risk of bleeding inside the brain. In this new study ...