Science and commerce advance together, and the stem cell field is no exception. With the promise of cures for conditions as diverse as cancer, autism, neural degeneration, organ replacement and addiction, long-term preservation of dental stem cells is a growth market.

The discovery nearly twenty years ago, of viable, multipotent, stem cells in dental pulp from both baby and adult teeth initiated, and drives, this market. The dental stem cell preservation services, “tooth banks”, focus on the collection of a child’s baby teeth, as they are shed naturally, and storage of the stem cells from within the pulp for therapeutic use in later years should the child require them. Obtaining stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) is simple and convenient, with little or no trauma. Furthermore, using one’s own stem cells poses few, if any, risks for developing immune reactions or rejection following transplantation.