We usually put them under the pillow and leave them for the tooth fairy.
But it seems our baby teeth are worth a lot more than a 50p left in under our pillows.
Huddersfield-based medical firm BioEden stores and uses stem cells taken from our children’s teeth to cure all kinds of diseases they may later experience, such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
BioEden, based at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre on Firth Street, seem to be leading the way for awareness of stem cell treatments, after they announced last week a 275% increase in demand for their services over the past year.
And their global success is all down to our pearly whites, whose components can be used to create skin grafts for people injured in horrific accidents, to repair damaged cardiac muscle in people with heart disease, and even to repair or replace our own teeth.
Stem cells are blank-canvas cells that can be transformed into any kind of cell in the body which may have been lost or damaged as a result of injuries or illness.
ITV’s Lorraine show cook Sally Bee is just one of the parents choosing to send her children’s teeth to BioEden after suffering three heart attacks, fearing her children may inherit her rare heart condition.
Prof John Hunt, who specialises in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine at the University of Liverpool, has praised BioEden for their non-invasive extraction of stem cells.
He said: “Harvesting stem cells from teeth is currently the only completely non-invasive process to obtain human adult stem cells.
“Stem cells from teeth are a very valuable source of these precious cells to store and bank for the future.”
BioEden’s success has also been put down to the increasing awareness of stem cell treatments and its affordability, with costs of storing your children’s stem cells starting from £5 a month.
Tony Ververka, CEO for the group, said: “BioEden’s stem cell banking services effectively provide the vital link to therapy by having a person’s own stem cells readily available for whenever they may be needed.”
