The National Institute of Dental Research sponsored a workshop on "Genetically Engineered Vaccines: Prospects for Oral Disease Prevention," held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on November 6-8, 1991. The purpose of the workshop was to convene molecular biologists and immunologists to address the state of the science in vaccine development and to explore the potential of developing vaccines for prevention of oral diseases. The goal was to elicit new research initiatives and recommendations for vaccine development with emphasis on the prevention of oral diseases and diseases affecting the orofacial tissues. The workshop was attended by more than 100 persons who heard 30 presentations, and the speakers provided the papers for this volume. The workshop focused on the following topics: oral diseases and host immune responses, update on vaccines and vaccine development, vaccines and the mucosal immune system, optimizing mucosal and systemic immune responses, delivery systems and immune analysis, target antigen selection and vaccine development, immunological correlates of protection and future direc­ tions/recommendations. Three key areas were identified: Optimizing the Mucosal Immune Response, Antigen Delivery Systems, and Target Antigens and Immunological Correlates of Protection. The summary and recommendations from these deliberations is included at the end of this volume.