Dental Stem Cells

By Steve S. Dorsch, DDS, MD

Loudoun Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

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Dental Stem Cells

Stem cells are immature cells that have not yet specialized and are responsible for the repair and regeneration of a body's organs and tissues. Stem cells become specialized cells for use in the area of the body that they reside in.

The exciting part is that you can actually take them from one area of the body, stimulate them in a very specific way and reprogram them to become different types of cells. For example, a stem cell obtained from a tooth could potentially be re-programmed to create pancreatic beta cells, which make insulin and could cure diabetes.

The field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine has grown exponentially in recent years. Many countries, including the US, are pumping millions of dollars into stem cell research because of the vast potential they hold.

Scientists have succeeded in transforming stem cells into bone and cartilage forming cells, nerve tissue, insulin producing cells, muscle tissue, skin, new teeth and other body tissues. Regenerative therapies from stem cells in teeth may be possible in the next 10-20 years without the ethical issues surrounding embryonic stem cells, or the immune suppressant drugs used in traditional transplants.

In our lifetime we should see medical therapies to treat illnesses such as diabetes, strokes, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimers disease, muscular dystrophies and many others. Banking stem cells gives people potential security to treat future illnesses that they may develop.

Stem cells are best banked when you are younger because stem cells age as we age and their best regenerative ability is when they are young. That's why wisdom teeth and baby teeth are ideal sources.

Using stem cells from teeth requires that there is a healthy pulp, the tissue inside the tooth this means no root canal treated teeth, no teeth with infections nor teeth with deep decay that affects the pulp. Baby teeth can be used but not when they have been “hanging by a string” because the pulp would not be healthy at that point.

Although there are no currently approved uses for dental stem cells there are a multitude of current studies researching many different kinds of regenerative therapies. Banking teeth now can be seen as an insurance policy for the future.

The process is simple (1) the company that the patient's family selects sends collection containers for the teeth to the doctor or patient, (2) the dentist removes the teeth and places them in the container, and then (3) sends them back to the company.

Researchers at the company then examine the teeth and tissue to see if there are viable cells, cryo-preserves (freezes) those cells, and then sends a report back to the patient and dentist.

Talk to your dentist about this exciting opportunity as the potential of stem cells becomes more and more real. It is important to let your dentist know early on if you are interested in banking stem cells for your child or yourself.