The next time your child's milk tooth is about to fall, instead of summoning the tooth fairy, donate it to a stem cell bank -- which could help treat a range of diseases including parkinsons and alzheimers in adults.
Stemade has opened their first dental stem cell bank in the city where it is now possible to freeze your dental stem cells for future use. The bank, which is functioning in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, has now opened a facility in Chennai, too.
Dental surgeon and oral pathologist, Dr K Ranganathan said that adult stem cells are of two types, hematopoietic stem cells that form blood cells and mesenchymal stem cells that form connective tissues. "Dental stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells that can be potential treatment options in diseases like parkinsons and alzhemiers," he said. He also added that dental stem cells, because of their place of origin, were more versatile than hematopoetic cells. "The jury is out on this, but we feel dental stem cells are more competent," he said.
Dr Ranganathan also said that the biggest advantage of the dental stem cell banking was that it was a non-invasive procedure and the teeth would be of no use to the person who would anyway throw them away. "Besides it is a great opportunity for people who have missed out on banking their cord blood cells to bank their dental stem cells, as dental stem cells can be extracted at any stage," he said.
Managing director of Stemade Shailesh Gadre said that unlike umbilical cord cells which are used to treat blood-related diseases like leukaemia and thalessemia, dental stem cells have the ability to treat certain forms of cancer, heart disease, periodontal diseases and can also be used to grow replacement teeth and bone. He added that the procedure of extraction would have to be done while the milk teeth was about to fall or when the wisdom teeth were about to be extracted. "The dental pulp of the teeth is the source of these stem cells and the pulp is more usable when they have a blood supply," he said. He also added that dental stem cells have high regeneration capacity and multiply fast.
Stemade has partnered with seven dental clinics in the city which are equipped with all the facilities to perform dental stem cell extraction. The cost, said Gadre, would work out to Rs 1.5 lakhs for the 15-year period for which the dental stem cells were being stored. "The processing fee is Rs 60,000 and the banking cost is Rs 6,000 per year," he said.
Written by Dentistry
Stemade has opened their first dental stem cell bank in the city where it is now possible to freeze your dental stem cells for future use. The bank, which is functioning in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, has now opened a facility in Chennai, too.
Dental surgeon and oral pathologist, Dr K Ranganathan said that adult stem cells are of two types, hematopoietic stem cells that form blood cells and mesenchymal stem cells that form connective tissues. "Dental stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells that can be potential treatment options in diseases like parkinsons and alzhemiers," he said. He also added that dental stem cells, because of their place of origin, were more versatile than hematopoetic cells. "The jury is out on this, but we feel dental stem cells are more competent," he said.
Dr Ranganathan also said that the biggest advantage of the dental stem cell banking was that it was a non-invasive procedure and the teeth would be of no use to the person who would anyway throw them away. "Besides it is a great opportunity for people who have missed out on banking their cord blood cells to bank their dental stem cells, as dental stem cells can be extracted at any stage," he said.
Managing director of Stemade Shailesh Gadre said that unlike umbilical cord cells which are used to treat blood-related diseases like leukaemia and thalessemia, dental stem cells have the ability to treat certain forms of cancer, heart disease, periodontal diseases and can also be used to grow replacement teeth and bone. He added that the procedure of extraction would have to be done while the milk teeth was about to fall or when the wisdom teeth were about to be extracted. "The dental pulp of the teeth is the source of these stem cells and the pulp is more usable when they have a blood supply," he said. He also added that dental stem cells have high regeneration capacity and multiply fast.
Stemade has partnered with seven dental clinics in the city which are equipped with all the facilities to perform dental stem cell extraction. The cost, said Gadre, would work out to Rs 1.5 lakhs for the 15-year period for which the dental stem cells were being stored. "The processing fee is Rs 60,000 and the banking cost is Rs 6,000 per year," he said.
Written by Dentistry
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