Saving Baby Teeth For Stem Cell Research

Many parents face the dilemma of what to do with their child’s baby teeth once the tooth fairy has collected them. Do you throw them out? Or hang on to them indefinitely in a plastic baggie somewhere? There actually might be a third option, one that could be potentially life saving for your child in the future.

Recently, scientists have found that the pulp inside of baby teeth is an excellent source of stem cells. By cryogenically freezing and storing these baby teeth, you can help safeguard the future for your child.

How Are Stem Cells Stored?

• The tooth is removed or falls out. It needs to be immediately preserved as the valuable pulp inside the tooth may die. The storage bank will put the tooth into an isotonic solution, which also contains antibiotics to kill any bacteria on the tooth.
• Next, a scientist will extract the pulp from the tooth using a machine called a Flow Cytometer. This machine will help check the viability of the cells and make sure they’re good candidates for storage.
• Only a couple thousand stem cells will be found in a single baby tooth. In order to use the stem cells to perform treatments, there needs to be millions. But science is progressing rapidly and new ways are being discovered to multiply these cells.
• Finally, the cells are stored in a protective liquid that will protect the cells during the process of freezing and storing them in nitrogen tanks.

How Stem Cells Can Help

Stem cells aren’t currently used, but they have the potential for amazing clinical use in the near future. Stem cells can be grown into any type of bodily structure, with the ability to be transplanted into the host in case of future illness or disease. For example, in the event of a bone defect, the stem cells can be grown into bone tissue and used to treat the defect.

Stem cell storage is a long-term investment, but its future applications are endless and staggering. Make sure you do some research into this avenue before deciding what to do with your child’s baby teeth. They could potentially save a life one day!

Please contact Auburn Family Dental, located in Wichita, KS, to learn more about baby teeth or to set up an appointment.