Did you know there are businesses that store your baby teeth for you? Don't worry, it's not as silly as it sounds. Places such as "Store-A-Tooth" take freshly extracted or fallen out baby teeth and store them cryogenically--not just as keepsakes, but as a source of stem cells. It has recently been discovered that the pulp inside of a tooth contains stem cells that could be very advantageous to keep.
Why Keep Teeth?
The stem cells found in teeth could save that child's life. Stem cells are a increasingly powerful treatment for many types of ailments and diseases. They work almost like clone cells because they can transform to become like the cells around them. This has huge potential for organ and tissue regeneration, cancer treatments, and brain disease treatment (learn more here).Currently it is very hard to obtain stem cells, and they are generally only found in umbilical cords. Now, parents that didn't collect the umbilical cord after birth can use teeth stem cells instead!
Teeth as Insurance
As you can see, keeping your baby's teeth and storing them for the future may be a good plan. That's not to say that you shouldn't give your baby proper dental care (and frequent visits to somewhere like here), but they might come in handy. You never know what ailments or injuries your child might have in the future, so keeping their teeth might be a great insurance policy. Also, with the new developments coming from stem cell research everyday, who knows what great use the stem cells might have in 10 years!Sources: NaplesNews.com, medicalnewstoday.com
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