✔ 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?
Since scientists don’t know when stem cell technology will be advanced enough to use SHED cells, some parents may spend a significant amount of money without ever benefiting from it.
Advancements in Stem Cell Research
🔬 Encouraging Progress in Recent Studies:
✅ In 2018, a University of Pennsylvania trial successfully generated dental tissue using baby teeth stem cells.
✅ Scientists have already confirmed that dental pulp stem cells can generate bone.
✅ As research advances, the potential uses of SHED cells will continue to grow.
However, experts agree that it’s too early to consider baby teeth stem cells as a widely accepted medical treatment.
Final Thoughts: Should You Bank Baby Teeth?
🦷 Tooth banking remains a fascinating and potentially revolutionary concept, but there are still many unknowns. While the promise of using baby teeth to regenerate tissues or treat diseases is real, the technology isn’t fully developed yet.
For now, parents interested in tooth banking should consider the high cost and the uncertainty of when these stem cells will be practically usable. However, as stem cell research advances, SHED cells could eventually become a powerful tool for medical treatments.
🔴 Would you consider storing your child’s baby teeth? Let us know in the comments!
