Many of us will remember the excitement of losing a baby tooth. It meant that you could place it under your pillow, and the tooth fairy would exchange it for money or a gift while you slept.
But it turns out that baby teeth are even more valuable than we thought as children. Some parents are now keeping baby teeth as a safeguard against future medical emergencies. (1)
Why Keep Baby Teeth?
Some parents have opted to bank their newborn’s umbilical cord blood in case their child needs its stem cells in the future. But ongoing research has found that stem cells are also available in baby teeth. (2)
Stem cells are extremely versatile. They can be used to grow different cell types that can be used to heal injuries and treat diseases, cancer, and genetic blood diseases. They can also be used to grow replacement tissues. (2, 3)
In the early 2000s, stem cell researcher Dr. Songtao Shi was inspired when his daughter lost a baby tooth at home. He noticed some rosy tissue stuck to the tooth’s roots and thought he might be able to find stem cells there. It was too late to extract living cells from it, so he patiently waited for his daughter to lose another. (2)
A week later, his daughter lost her second baby tooth. Shi placed the tooth in a test tube and drove it to his lab in the middle of the night. He extracted living stem cells from it and was able to multiply them in the lab. (2)
Shi continued to research with his colleagues at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, MD. They have searched for other sources of stem cells in the craniofacial region. And they are exploring the ways that stem cells from baby teeth can be used to save lives. (2)
How Stem Cells from Baby Teeth Are Different
The stem cells found in baby teeth have a few important benefits over stem cells from other parts of the body. First, they are more accessible. While stem cells are present in most parts of the body, they’re often difficult to get to. They also look like the other cells around them, and there aren’t very many of them. (4) However, more study and testing is needed to understand how these cells may help treat disease and regenerate or repair damaged cells.
How to Preserve Baby Teeth
Many parents are used to keeping baby teeth in a box or bag. But this won’t work if you want to extract stem cells from them.
To preserve the stem cells, baby teeth need to be removed by a dentist before they fall out naturally. There are many companies that now offer to preserve and bank baby teeth. If you’re interested in preserving your child’s tooth, you will need to choose a company and coordinate with your dentist so they know you want this option. When your child’s tooth becomes loose, make an appointment with your dentist. The dentist will remove the tooth and use your chosen company’s preservation kit to process it and send it in. (1)
