Could a Baby Tooth Save Your Child’s Life?
by Renuka Rao Bijoo, DDS

Perhaps the tooth fairy hasn’t been wrong after all — baby teeth can be valuable and should not be discarded!

Stem cells can come from various sources, including embryos, bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood. But did you know that stem cells also be found in baby teeth and wisdom teeth? And unlike embryonic stem cells, teeth provide a non-controversial source of stem cells.

Stem cells found in baby teeth?

In 2003, Dr. Songtao Shi at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland discovered dental stem cells in his daughter’s baby teeth. Since then, many scientists around the world have shown that dental stem cells can be coaxed into cells typically found in teeth, bones, nerves, fat, joints, and muscles. Imagine someday healing your child’s broken bone or treating other serious injuries or diseases with stem cells leftover from one of his baby teeth.

With the advent of dental stem cells, companies such as Store-A-Tooth™ are providing a service to properly preserve a child’s dental stem cells — a sort of biological insurance in anticipation of these cells becoming important as the field advances.

Saving your child’s baby teeth

The process starts with a visit to the dentist’s office, where the eligible tooth or teeth are collected. The teeth are then placed in a special transport container and sent to a lab where the tissue is harvested, processed, frozen and cryo-preserved for potential future use.

How much does it cost?

The start-up fee is $699, which includes the first year of storage. There is an annual charge of $120 for storing the teeth each year after that. A 20-year plan is available for $2,379.

Why is this something to consider?

Adult stem cells have been used to treat disease for years, and researchers are exploring many avenues for possible new clinical uses for these cells.  The US Department of Health and Human Services says regenerative medicine is “the next evolution of medical treatments” and “holds the realistic promise of regenerating damaged tissues and organs”.  Stem cells from teeth represent a convenient resource that may one day be used for these new medical therapies.

Although there are no proven clinical applications of dental stem cells, these cells have been shown in the lab to regenerate many different cell types. Some of the earliest applications may be in regenerating or repairing bone or teeth, but researchers are also looking into using these cells to help treat neural and muscular damage as well.

Collecting stem cells from teeth is a convenient, accessible, and relatively painless process compared to other ways of collecting stem cells. It is less expensive than alternative means of adult stem cell banking, and the teeth would otherwise be discarded. Also, cell-based therapies work best if the cells ‘match’ the person treated, and since using your own cells guarantees a perfect match, banking stem cells from your teeth preserves a resource that is ideal for you, but may also be useful for close relatives.

Is this different from stem cells taken from cord blood?

In some ways, dental stem cells and umbilical cord blood are similar. Both are adult stem cells, so there are no ethical or moral issues with their collection and use as there are with embryonic stem cells. Both are processed and cryo-preserved for potential future use. Some differences include the types of cells they are capable of forming; cord blood typically forms cells of the blood system, while dental stem cells can regenerate cells typically found in or associated with teeth, bones, nerves, fat, joints, and muscles.

How to learn more

Go to the Store-A-Tooth website for more information on dental stem cells and the Store-A-Tooth service, or call toll-free 1-877-867-5753.

RENUKA RAO BIJOOR, DDS is the owner of Briarcliff Pediatric Dentistry and a Board-certified specialist in pediatric dentistry. She teaches at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine on a part-time basis, and is affiliated with Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, where she provides hospital dentistry for very young children and patients with special needs.

Tags: baby teeth, bone marrow, dental stem cells, free advertising, living my moment, mom owned business, stem cells, umbilical cord blood