AUTHOR=Menon Leena U. , Scoffield Jessica A. , Jackson Janice G. , Zhang Ping 

TITLE=Candida albicans and Early Childhood Caries

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Dental Medicine

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/dental-medicine/articles/10.3389/fdmed.2022.849274

DOI=10.3389/fdmed.2022.849274

ISSN=2673-4915

ABSTRACT=<p>Early childhood caries (ECC) is a highly prevalent and costly chronic oral infectious disease in preschool children. <italic>Candida albicans</italic> has been frequently detected in children and has demonstrated cariogenic traits. However, since ECC is a multifactorial infectious disease with many predisposing non-microbial factors, it remains to be elucidated whether the presence and accumulation of <italic>C. albicans</italic> in ECC is merely a consequence of the adaptation of <italic>C. albicans</italic> to a cariogenic oral environment, or it plays an active role in the initiation and progression of dental caries. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on <italic>C. albicans</italic> and the risk of ECC, with a focus on its synergistic relationship with the cariogenic pathogen <italic>Streptococcus mutans</italic>. We also highlight recent advances in the development of approaches to disrupt <italic>C. albicans</italic>-<italic>S. mutans</italic> cross-kingdom biofilms in ECC prevention and treatment. Longitudinal clinical studies, including interventional clinical trials targeting <italic>C. albicans</italic>, are necessary to ascertain if <italic>C. albicans</italic> indeed contributes in a significant manner to the initiation and progression of ECC. In addition, further work is needed to understand the influence of other bacteria and fungi of oral microbiota on <italic>C. albicans</italic>-<italic>S. mutans</italic> interactions in ECC.</p>