{"id":4878,"date":"2025-02-11T09:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T09:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/?p=4878"},"modified":"2025-02-11T09:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T09:05:11","slug":"i-had-no-idea-baby-teeth-could-do-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/?p=4878","title":{"rendered":"I Had No Idea Baby Teeth Could Do So Much"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was completely blown away when I discovered\u00a0baby teeth stem cell banking<\/strong>\u2014the idea that those tiny teeth might someday heal injuries or fight serious diseases. Apparently, these little treasures contain something called SHED cells, which have the potential to regrow dentin and even form bone. If that sounds futuristic, well, it is. But a few companies already offer to freeze those cells just in case we need them in the future.<\/p>\n

A Potential Life-Saver?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At first, I thought it was some internet rumor. But then I read about how stem cells in baby teeth could help repair damage caused by chemotherapy or certain diseases. Don\u2019t get me wrong, not every dentist or scientist is totally convinced. Even one leading expert, Dr. Pamela Robey, suggested it might be too early to bank every tooth. Still, the fact remains:\u00a0baby teeth stem cell banking<\/strong>\u00a0isn\u2019t just science fiction anymore. Who knows where the research might lead?<\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Freepik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cost vs. The Possibilities<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Like most cutting-edge medical ideas, this isn\u2019t cheap. Services such as Store-A-Tooth and ToothBank can charge upwards of $1,700 just to get started\u2014plus yearly fees. That\u2019s a lot of money, especially if we have no clue when (or if) these cells will prove beneficial. Yet, for parents who want \u201cbiological insurance,\u201d\u00a0baby teeth stem cell banking<\/strong>\u00a0could be worth every penny if it ends up saving a life. It\u2019s a gamble, sure, but some believe the payoff could be huge.<\/p>\n

Where Science Is Headed<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A 2018 University of Pennsylvania study showed that dental tissue can indeed be generated from baby teeth. That\u2019s no small feat! But experts caution it\u2019s too soon to treat these cells as a guaranteed fix for everything from leukemia to bone injuries. Even so, you can\u2019t help but wonder if we\u2019re on the verge of a breakthrough. If\u00a0baby teeth stem cell banking<\/strong>\u00a0pans out, parents might find that saving those little pearly whites was one of the smartest decisions they ever made.<\/p>\n

Please SHARE this article with your friends and family on Facebook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was completely blown away when I discovered\u00a0baby teeth stem cell banking\u2014the idea that those tiny teeth might someday heal injuries or fight serious diseases. Apparently, these little treasures contain something called SHED cells, which have the potential to regrow dentin and even form bone. If that sounds futuristic, well, it is. But a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-random-stuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4879,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4878\/revisions\/4879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}