The use of stem cells has been quite controversial in the last decade or so, but it’s hard for anyone to argue the benefit these cells offer when a child is in need of life-saving medical technology. Many new parents opt to have umbilical cord blood frozen and stored, but now there’s yet another way to preserve stem cells long after the child is out of diapers. Medical experts have found that stem cells can be collected from the pulp of a child’s baby teeth.

So how does this work? When a child’s tooth is getting ready to fall out, your dentist should be contacted in order to be prepared. The pulp of the tooth will be cryogenically preserved, which mean it will be frozen at extremely low temperatures that will keep the stem cells in their current state. Some studies are even suggesting that stem cells can be collected from adult wisdom teeth as well, since those teeth have essentially been with us from the beginning.

What are the benefits of collecting stem cells from baby teeth? First and probably most importantly, if your child ever develops a disease or is seriously injured, stem cells can be used to correct the damaged tissue. Stem cells have most famously been used to treat spinal cord injuries, but they can also be used to treat heart problems, diabetes and cancer.

Although nothing has been stated definitely, researchers are also testing to see whether or not stem cells can be used to grow new teeth, which if possible, would cut down on the need for dentures and other tooth replacement procedures. Another study published by the Journal of Dental Research claims that dental stem cells can also be used to produce insulin, which would be helpful in treating diabetes.

Although many of these studies are in the earliest stages, science is continuous in its exploration and discovery. Knowing what we already know about stem cells, it would be in the great interest of your child to have the stem cells collected and stored. Who knows what possibilities science can bring about!

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