Today, I learnt a new thing from one of my old buddies. All those baby teeth and wisdom teeth which we happily render to the tooth fairy, can now be donated to the Stem Cell Bank for tooth or bone treatments in the future.
So...next time, do not throw your baby's teeth!
It all began in the year 2000, with the discovery of dental pulp containing adult stem cells. One of the major advantage of having your own cells banked, or those of your children, is that you do not have to worry about the possibile effects of immune suppression.
The stem cell, extracted from baby teeth, and deposited in stem cell banks are used for:
So...next time, do not throw your baby's teeth!
It all began in the year 2000, with the discovery of dental pulp containing adult stem cells. One of the major advantage of having your own cells banked, or those of your children, is that you do not have to worry about the possibile effects of immune suppression.
The stem cell, extracted from baby teeth, and deposited in stem cell banks are used for:
- treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
- treatment of various dental diseases
- tooth pulp regeneration and vitalization
- infarction myocardial tissue replacement
- regeneration of bone after fractures and osteoporosis
Note: The tooth pulp stem cells are used in therapies, and for transplantation only to the person who did the harvesting. Research is also going on for these stem cells to be used for other people in the same family.
You must be wondering - What are dental pulp stem cells?
Well, these are cells that has the ability to transform and replace other cell types in your body. It is similar to bone marrow.
Some of the treatable diseases include:
- Bone marrow failure disorders
- Sickle cell disease
- Inherited Immune System Disorders
- Histiocytic Disorders
- Leukemias and Lymphomas
- Inherited metabolic disorders
- Plasma cell disorders
- Myelodysplastic disorders
- Malignancies such as Neuroblastoma, Rhabdomyosarcoma, Testicular Cancer, Ovarian cancer
- Others include: Evan Syndrome, Chronic Active Epstein Barr, Thymic Dysplasia.
Enough of diseases and treatments for today! I am already feeling sick:)...
