India's first dental stem cell bank launched

Mumbai: Teeth are the newest and the easiest way of obtaining stem cells say dentists at Dhruv Polyclinic, Mumbai, who have started the 'Store Your Cells', the first dental stem cell bank in India.

Parents normally discard their children's milk teeth when they fall off, which tyhe dentists asy are a rich source of stem cells as are wisdom teeth. They are easy to obtain and can be stored for as long as required.

Dental stem cells are potent stem cells that have been shown to be able to generate many cell and tissue types like bone, nerve, cartilage,teeth and fat.

Dental stem cells are extracted from the dental pulp, or the soft living tissue inside a tooth, which contain stem cells of the type scientifically referred to as the mesenchymal type of stem cells.

These stem cells have the potential to differentiate into a variety of other cell types including cardio myocytes to repair damaged cardiac tissue caused by heart attacks, neuronal cells that generate nerve and brain tissue, myocytes for repairing normal muscles,  bone and tissue from the oral cavity and osteocytes to generate bones, chondrocytes to generate cartilage and adipocytes to generate fat.

Scientists around the world continue to unlock the potential of dental stem cells, suggesting a very broad range of potential applications in regenerative medicine.