Experts are now encouraging parents to consider a new, untraditional way to possibly help their child’s future health by saving their baby’s teeth.
Thanks to advancements in technology, STEM cells can now be extracted from a child’s tooth after it naturally falls out, offering a promising avenue for future medical interventions.
For several years, doctors have used STEM cell research and found an increasing understanding of how diseases occur.
They can also generate healthy cells to replace cells affected by disease in what we know as regenerative medicine.
“Stem cells are the body’s raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells,” the Mayo Clinic’s website explains. “These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells, or bone cells. No other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cell types.”
Research shows STEM cells are already being used to treat some of the following diseases:
- Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) can be grafted onto breast tumor sites to suppress tumor cell growth.
- Parkinson’s patients who receive MSCs all showed consistent improvements in motor scores.
- 30% of diabetes patients who receive MSCs can stop insulin injections completely.
- 70% of diabetes patients showed a 75% reduction in insulin requirements.
- MSCs also improved diabetes complications, healing nerve and kidney damage.
- Heart attack patients who receive MSCs have decreased scar tissue, better heart function, and healthier blood vessels.
- MSC therapy is shown to significantly improve function after stroke in animal studies.
I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘How can I keep track of all these teeth in a safe, secure way?’
Well, that’s where ‘Tooth Banking’ comes into play.
Tooth Banking is said to be the most secure way to store your child’s baby teeth, wisdom teeth, or healthy extracted teeth.
Banking dental STEM cells will possibly give your child the ability to take advantage of therapies that may emerge in the future.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you and the Tooth Fairy have to find a new gig.
You will still have to go through the process of getting the child’s tooth and mailing it in. That’s the perfect time to sneak that cash reward underneath their pillow!