The first time you lost a tooth, you may have wiggled it and wiggled it -- and maybe even went to extremes to pull it out. Why? Because after the pain came a prize from the Tooth Fairy.
But, that prize may hold more value that you think.
"It could save not only your child's life, but it could save your life."
Dentist Dr. Darren Riopelle of Little Smiles Grand Haven is talking about the Store-A-Tooth kit.
"Store-A-Tooth comes from the new technology of genetics where they can actually take the information from the stem cell of the tooth and create stem cells so that if down the road your or your child has some issue where they need some transplants, they can then use those cells for it."
Researchers have known for decades that the soft tooth pulp in the center of teeth contains nerve stem cells but in 2014, University of California researchers discovered by stimulating them, they can revert back to basic stem cells that can be used for many different diseases.
"They seem to be younger they have characteristics that seem to give them more potential than other adult stem cells." Dr. Peter Verlander with Provia Laboratories who developed Store-A-Tooth says storing tooth stem cells could help shape the future of medicine.
"Just like antibiotics revolutionized medicine, I think that we are coming to the point where regenerative technologies will also revolutionize medicine and change our lives," he continued.
Giving parents like Stacey Holt an opportunity to possibly save their child's life, “It just offers a lot of peace of mind."
Here's how Store-A-Tooth works:
When you're child loses a tooth, place it in the Tooth Transport Kit and send it off to the Store-A-Tooth facility.
At the facility, they remove your tooth from the kit and extract the stem cells from the soft tissue and store it for you until it's needed.
The initial cost is $1,749 and it will cost you $120 a year to store your tooth.
Holt says that's a small price to pay, “To know that that's out there and be able to keep a tooth and know that it's there in case something happens down the road; absolutely."
Store-A-Tooth isn't just for baby teeth, it's also for wisdom teeth and any healthy adult tooth that you might lose.
The uses for stem cells include Parkinson's disease, Type I Diabetes, Arthritis, cardiovascular diseases and more.
For more information, visit Store-A-Tooth.com.