🦷 Like bone marrow, baby teeth contain stem cells that could one day be used for medical treatments. As a result, some parents are now considering tooth banking—a process where baby teeth are collected, preserved, and stored in specialized stem cell banks.
However, scientists remain divided on whether this practice is currently worth the investment.
💬 Dr. Robey’s Opinion:
“Right now, I don’t think it is a logical thing to do. That’s my personal opinion. But that’s not to say that in the future, somebody won’t develop a method to make them beneficial.”
While the technology to fully harness the potential of baby teeth stem cells is still in its early stages, researchers believe it holds great promise.
Potential Uses of Baby Teeth Stem Cells
Although research is ongoing, SHED stem cells could eventually be used in treatments for:
✔ Dental Regeneration – Repairing or replacing damaged dental pulp.
✔ Whole Tooth Regeneration – Regrowing an entire tooth structure.
✔ Healing Tissues Damaged by Chemotherapy or Disease – Potentially repairing damaged cells in cancer patients.
✔ Treating Blood Disorders – Conditions like leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and multiple myeloma could one day benefit from SHED cells.
⚠ However, it is important to note that the last two applications have not yet been tested on SHED stem cells.
Dr. Jade Miller, President of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, believes that baby teeth stem cells will have significant medical applications in the future:
“The science is strong enough to show it’s not science fiction. There’s going to be a significant application, and I want my grandkids to have those options.”
How Does Tooth Banking Work?
Although stem cell research still has a long way to go, several companies now offer tooth banking services, including Store-A-Tooth and ToothBank.
How It Works:
1️⃣ You ship your child’s tooth to a laboratory.
2️⃣ The lab extracts the stem cells.
3️⃣ The cells are grown in a culture to expand their numbers.
4️⃣ The stem cells are cryopreserved (frozen) for future use.
The Cost of Tooth Banking
💰 Tooth banking isn’t cheap!
For example, Store-A-Tooth charges:
✅ $1,747 upfront for processing.
✅ $120 per year for storage fees.
💡 Is It Worth It?
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