It turns out you should be saving your child’s baby teeth – they can provide lifesaving stem cells later in life.
For generations, parents have been taking their children’s baby teeth in the guise of the tooth fairy, leaving behind a small present or some money. What parents do with these teeth after has varied. Some keep them as mementos, while others just toss them. It turns out that everyone should actually be saving these baby teeth, and doing so securely.
Within the last 10 years, experts have begun to realize just how valuable baby teeth can be when it comes to your child’s future health.
The secret is the stem cells they contain, and all the important functions they can serve.
In fact, news outlets were reporting on the importance of baby teeth as far back as 2007, such as this story from WGAL. In it, the news outlet highlighted just what baby teeth can do and took a look at some of the companies that let parents securely store them.
In the video, WGAL talked to dentist Maria Meliton, who explained:
“Baby teeth are a great source for stem cells.”
The father of a child whose teeth are being stored told reporters his logic behind storing the teeth:
“Within her lifetime, she’s only 5 now, conceivably there can be other treatments for diabetes or heart disease and I think that that’s just fantastic.”
It hasn’t been until recent years, however, that the news about baby teeth and stem cells has spread, potentially saving more lives.
The only catch is that you can’t just put the baby teeth in a container in your home and expect that to be enough. They need to be sent to a company specializing in extracting the stem cells from the teeth. Those who want their children’s stem cells from their baby teeth preserved simply send the teeth off within 48 hours or so, following instructions, such as surrounding them with ice packs.
As one company offering this service, StemSave, explains on its website:
“Dental stem cells have significant medical benefits in the development of new medical therapies. Using one’s own stem cells for medical treatment means a much lower risk of rejection by the body and decreases the need for powerful drugs that weaken the immune system, both of which are negative but typical realities that come into play when tissues or cells from a donor are used to treat patients.”
Essentially, while there are ways to get stem cells from donors and develop treatments using those, it is always best for a patient to undergo treatment using their own stem cells. This reduces the risks associated with the treatment in question.
To make it even more important:
“The stem cells from teeth have been observed in research studies to be among the most powerful stem cells in the human body. Stem cells from teeth replicate at a faster rate and for a longer period of time than do stem cells harvested from other tissues of the body.”
So, what can parents who want to preserve their child’s stem cells do?
Saving your child’s stem cells is as simple as asking your dentist whether they know of a trusted company that will extract and store the cells for you. If they don’t, do some research online. Most baby teeth will be eligible, so you won’t run out of time until your child has all of his or her adult teeth.
There is even a chance that your wisdom teeth or permanent adult teeth may still contain stem cells.
The problem is that as we age, our stem cells become less powerful. Because of this, adults aren’t likely to have strong enough stem cells in their teeth to do much good; it is best to extract the cells when your child is young. Think of it as another type of insurance, albeit a highly affordable one.
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