The early prophylactic removal of developing third molars common called wisdom teeth can avoid future surgical problems and expenses. The developing tooth bud can supply valuable pluripotent stem cells that may be used to treat diabetes, liver disease or for anti-aging or regenerative medicine.
The surgical removal of wisdom teeth carries mutiple risks including up to a 6% chance of paraethesia (permanent numbness) of the tongue, lip, gums or teeth. This is similar to what it feels like after receiving anaesthetic.
There is frequently significant discomfort during or following the procedure and long-term TMJ disorders, including clicking, popping and locking are frequently linked removal of mandibular wisdom teeth.
The removal of the developing tooth germ or tooth bud is in contrast a low risk procedure that is done with minimal trauma or post op complications. More importantly this developing tooth bud is an ideal source of powerful multi or pluripotent stem cells.
Dr Wayne Franco is president of New Heart LLC sees a major escalation in stem cell therapies in the near future. According to Dr Franco, the developing tooth bud may be the richest and most versatile source of viable stem cells. There are advantages of these Stem Cells compared to Umbilical Cord Blood and Embryonic Stem Cells. The lab reports on stem cells from wisdom tooth buds are impressive.
Stem cells from lost baby teeth and wisdom teeth are being banked but are generally of lower quality. Dr Franco is now working with a Gurnee, Illinois dentist, Dr Ira L Shapira who is president of Dato-Tech and has method and device patents on the collection of stem cells from minimally invasive prophylactic removal of wisdom tooth buds before calcification.
Dr Franco and Dr Shapira from Dato-Tech have joined forces to provide a new source of Stem Cells for parents who missed the window of opportunity to save their children’s Cord Blood.
Dr Franco is currently providing an opportunity for patients to have prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth buds and subsequent processing, evaluation, and storage of stem cells.
Wayne Franco MD, CEO, New Heart, LLC
Stem cells derived from teeth may help aid in treating spinal injuries according to a December 5th article in Dentistry Today, which stated, “the researchers were from Nagoya University in Japan. They infused dental stem cells into the spinal cord tissues of rats with broken backs. They discovered that dental pulp kept the cells alive. They also regenerated damaged nerves, allowing new cells to grow and aid the spinal cord.” The treated animals regained leg movements after transplantation, which is exciting news for patients with spinal column injuries.
This study was done with stem cells derived from adult wisdom teeth. A consensus is currently developing that stem cells from the developing tooth bud or tooth germ are much more powerful and less differentiated. According to Dr Wayne Franco of New Heart LLC stem cells from tooth buds are multipotent and may rival embryonic stem cells in ability to be pluripotent.
Another study, published in November Cell Transplantation from Nagoya University School of Medicine showed that dental stem cells could aid in bone regeneration.
“This study highlights the promise of obtaining stem cells from unusual sources, such as teeth, and their potential benefit in familial treatments for bone reconstruction,” said Julio Voltarelli, MD, PhD, professor of clinical medicine and clinical immunology at the University of Sao Pãulo, Brazil. “Due to their potential to also become other cell types such as neural cells, it will be interesting to see what future studies reveal about the possible uses of these cells.”
The dog stem cells that were successfully utilized came from three experimental groups: canine mesenchymal stem cells mixed with platelet rich plasma (PRP), canine dental pulp stem cells/PRP; and puppy primary tooth stem cells/PRP.
The study showed that “Stem cells extracted from teeth and dental pulp of canines can be grafted and regenerate bone between parents and offspring, according to report published online Nov. 5 in Cell Transplantation.” The ability to graft stem cells to parents is a game changer for anti-aging medicine.
A final study in the November Cells Tissues and Organs, “Characterization of dental pulp stem cells from impacted third molars cultured in low serum containing medium” confirmed the incredible usefulness of stem cells from dental pulp in developing teeth. The authors stated that they had shown that cells from the dental pulp were “self-renewing and able to express markers of bone, cartilage, vascular and neural tissues, suggesting their multipotential capacity”.
Cells Tissues Organs. 2011;193(6):344-65. Epub 2010 Nov 11.
Characterization of dental pulp stem cells from impacted third molars cultured in low serum-containing medium.
Karbanová J, Soukup T, Suchánek J, Pytlík R, Corbeil D, Mokrý J.
Department of Histology and Embryology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic. [email protected]
We isolated and expanded stem cells from dental pulp from extracted third molars using an innovative culture method consisting of low serum-containing medium supplemented with epidermal growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor BB. We evaluated the differentiation potential of these cells when they were growing either adherently or as micromass/spheroid cultures in various media. Undifferentiated and differentiated cells were analyzed by flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting. The flow cytometry results showed that the dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were positive for mesenchymal stromal cell markers, but negative for hematopoietic markers. Immunocytochemical and/or immunoblotting analyses revealed the expression of numerous stem cell markers, including nanog, Sox2, nestin, Musashi-1 and nucleostemin, whereas they were negative for markers associated with differentiated neural, vascular and hepatic cells. Surprisingly, the cells were only slightly positive for α-smooth muscle actin, and a heterogeneous expression of CD146 was observed. When cultured in osteogenic media, they expressed osteonectin, osteopontin and procollagen I, and in micromass cultures, they produced collagen I. DPSCs cultured in TGF-β1/3-supplemented media produced extracellular matrix typical of cartilaginous tissue. The addition of vascular endothelial growth factor to serum-free media resulted in the expression of endothelial markers. Interestingly, when cultured in neurogenic media, DPSCs exhibited de novo or upregulated markers of undifferentiated and differentiated neural cells. Collectively, our data Their easy accessibility makes these cells a suitable source of somatic stem cells for tissue engineering.