You probably recall the moment when they lost their first tooth. They wait in expectancy for the tooth fairy to come and snatch up their baby tooth, leaving behind a few coins or bills in return. Although many parents keep their children’s first lost tooth, we tend to just discard the ones that followed. However, if your children are still young, you might wanna hang on to all of your kids’ baby teeth.
Scientists do encourage parents to hang on to their kids’ teeth, and the causes behind this have nothing to do with being sentimental. As it turns out, there is an abundance of stem cells present in their teeth that might potentially save their lives in the near future.
Stem cells are often used to treat diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and many types of cancer. A lot of people diagnosed with these diseases need to wait long periods of time to find a suitable bone marrow match. However, if your child is ever diagnosed with one of these and you hang on to their baby teeth, the stem cells in them can be used in treatment, and they won’t have to wait for a donor.
If your child loses a tooth in the future, don’t just throw it away. Organizations like Tooth bank specialize in storing baby teeth properly and safely. If the teeth are not stored correctly, the stem cells present in them may not be able to be harvested if the need ever arose. And it’s not just your kids’ baby teeth that can be stored for future use. Any teeth that are pulled (including wisdom teeth) can help in the future.
Thinking of your child potentially being diagnosed with a such a disease is sure frightening. but if you take steps like storing their teeth, it can save your child if something like that ever were to happen.
