DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for dental caries — screening already-approved drugs against its 37-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleDental caries maps to a 37-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for dental caries is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
hydroxyacid oxidase 1 (HAO1) — HAO1 is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet fmndrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2NZL · 1.35 Å · ligand FLAVIN MONONUCLEOTIDE (FMN). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
One 2018 in vivo study gave 16 rats nicotine and infected them with Streptococcus mutans. The nicotine-treated rats had a higher incidence of sulcal caries than untreated rats (42.7 ± 1.7 vs 37.3 ± 4.9, P = 0.009). Slightly dentinal and moderate dentinal caries scores were also higher with nicotine (P < 0.001). Scanning electron microscopy showed more S. mutans cells attached to the dental surface in the nicotine group. The authors concluded nicotine promotes S. mutans attachment and increases caries incidence and severity in this animal model.
A 2017 systematic review of 11 studies found that most dentists still choose to restore caries lesions confined to enamel or reaching the outer half of dentin, despite progress in understanding caries management. For occlusal enamel lesions, 4.6% to 17.8% of dentists opted for invasive treatment; for outer-half dentin lesions, 50.2% to 70.2% did. For approximal surfaces, the range was 5% to 88% for enamel and 4.4% to 94% for outer-half dentin. The review judged the methodological quality of the included studies as moderate.
A 2023 literature review summarised that dental caries is a complex, multifactorial disease influenced by genetic, environmental, and social factors. The authors identified genetic markers affecting salivary flow and composition, tooth formation, and immune genes, and noted that gene–gene and gene–environment interactions may contribute to caries risk and resistance. They argued that such markers could eventually help screen susceptible patients and guide preventive or therapeutic approaches, but the review did not report any new clinical data or trials.
A 2024 cross-sectional study of schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan examined 13 urban schools. The authors reported a high proportion of untreated carious lesions and a very low level of restorative care, with significant differences by gender and age group. They concluded that professional operative and preventive oral health care is needed in that region. No numbers for DMFT scores or sample size were given in the abstract.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Journal of Dental Sciences · 2018 · 53 citations · open access
Nicotine is a risk factor for dental caries: An in vivo study
AbstractStreptococcus mutans is an important pathogen in the development of dental caries. Many studies have focused on the relationship between nicotine and S. mutans in vitro. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nicotine on the growth of S. mutans and its cariogenic potential in vivo. Sixteen male Specific-pathogen-free Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups (nicotine-treated and nicotine-untreated group) and infected with S. mutans. The S. mutans suspension was treated with 1 mg/mL nicotine in the nicotine-treated group. The Keyes method was used to evaluate sulcal caries of rats, and dental plaque on molar teeth was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Incidence of sulcal caries was higher in nicotine-treated group compared to nicotine-untreated group (42.7 ± 1.7 vs 37.3 ± 4.9, P = 0.009). Severity of caries increased with nicotine treatment. The slightly dentinal caries scores and moderate dentinal caries scores were higher in the presence of nicotine (P < 0.001). Increased number of S. mutans cells attached to dental surface was observed under SEM in the nicotine-treated group. Nicotine would promote the attachment of S. mutans to dental surface, and further increase the incidence and severity of dental caries. Therefore, nicotine might be a risk factor for smoking-induced caries.
Restorative Treatment Decisions in Posterior Teeth: A Systematic Review.
AbstractPURPOSE: To determine the stage of caries in posterior permanent teeth at which dentists decide to intervene invasively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search of the literature from January 1980 to November 2015 available in MEDLINE-PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library was conducted. The main search terms used were decision-making, restorative treatment, dental caries lesion, occlusal surface, and approximal surface. The inclusion criterion was studies including dentists only. Three reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts to determine the eligibility of studies. Subsequently, the full texts of the papers deemed eligible were perused and included in the data extraction process. RESULTS: The review encompassed 11 studies and the methodological quality was considered moderate. Most dentists would restore lesions confined to enamel and reaching the outer half of the dentin, irrespective of the surface involved. With regard to the occlusal surface, the percentage of dentists who restored enamel lesions ranged from 4.6% to 17.8%. Regarding dentin lesions (outer half), 50.2%-70.2% of the dentists opted for invasive treatment. For the approximal surface, the choice for invasive treatment of enamel lesions ranged from 5%-88%. In dentin lesions, 4.4%-94% of dentists restored lesions in the outer half of the dentin. CONCLUSION: Despite the progress achieved in the understanding of the development and management of caries, dentists still recommend restorative treatment in its early stages.
Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU · 2023 · 5 citations · open access
Role of Genetic Markers in Dental Caries: A Literature Review
AbstractAbstract Introduction This article reviews the literature on the role of genetic markers in the initiation and progression of dental caries and provides a modern understanding of the disease etiology. Dental caries is a complex, chronic, multifactorial disease which is influenced by genetic, environmental, and social factors. Identification of genetic risk factors will help screen and identify susceptible patients to better understand the contribution of genes in caries etiopathogenesis to formulate various diagnostic and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of the disease. Materials and Methods Innovations and ideas were retrieved based on the literature in journals and textbooks indexed in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science database. The theories obtained are then summarized into a continuous series; thus, readers can more easily understand the ideas and innovations offered. Results Through interactions of the involved gene products, genetic markers have been constructed and provide us with insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying caries. There can also be gene–gene interactions or gene–environment interactions that create epigenetic effects that all possibly contribute to caries risk and resistance. A variety of caries markers have been identified, including genes affecting salivary flow rates and composition, tooth formation genes, as well as immune genes. Conclusion Information derived from various diverse studies will provide new tools to target individuals and/or populations for a more efficient and effective implementation of new preventive measures and diagnostic and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of dental caries.
The oral health situation and treatment need of schoolchildren Afghanistan: a cross-sectional study.
AbstractAIM: The present study explores the treatment need for dental caries in schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan. METHODS: A convenience sample of 13 schools were selected for the study. All schools were located in the urban areas near Herat and were selected through allocation by the Ministry of Health, which also approved the study protocol. In the schools, classes were allocated by the principal of the school. All the children in the allocated classes were included in the survey. Data collection was performed in the school setting by trained Afghan dentist examiners. To measure caries experience, DMFT/dmft scores were used, counting the number of decayed (measured at both white spot (D≥1) and cavitation level (D≥3), according to WHO criteria), missing and filled teeth. CONCLUSION: Dental caries is a considerable oral health problem in the study population. The present sample has a high proportion of untreated carious lesions and a very low level of restorative care. Moreover, significant differences were shown in relation to gender and age groups. The present survey results confirm the need for professional operative and preventive oral health care in this region.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
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