The Buccale Puzzle: The Symbiotic Nature of Endogenous Infections of the Oral Cavity

Abstract

The indigenous, 'normal' microflora cause the majority of localized infectious diseases of the oral cavity (eg, dental caries, alveolar abscesses, periodontal diseases and candidiasis). The same microflora also protect the host from exogenous pathogens by stimulating a vigorous immune response and providing colonization resistance. How can a microflora that support health also cause endogenous oral disease? This paradoxical host-symbiont relationship will be discussed within the dynamic of symbiosis.