Saving Stem Cells in Lost Teeth

One day the tooth fairy may save your life - that is, if your tooth fairy is an oral maxillofacial surgeon. About ten years ago, National Institutes of Health researchers discovered stem cells in dental pulp, cells that may hold keys to curing diseases like diabetes, heart failure, lupus, cancer, Parkinson;s and Crohn's. Some dentists may now offer patients the option of banking wisdom or other extracted teeth as "biological insurance" for potential regenerative therapies. These teeth are sent to a New York based laboratory called StemSave, which extracts, cryopreserves, and stores the stem cells. The cost is $590 for initial processing and $100 annually - a significant tab when there are no proven therapies yet.

Identifying Diabetes in the Dental Office

A team of nursing and dental researchers are investigating the possibility of using gingival crevicular blood as an indicator of diabetes. The team will look at the levels of hemoglobin A1C, a measurement for blood glucose, within the gingival crevicular fluid of patients with periodontal diseases. The hemoglobin A1C test is currently used to determine how well people with diabetes are managing their blood glucose levels and in the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetes risk. This study will use a testing kit originally developed for dental professionals to use with finger stick blood samples. The kit has been revised to accommodate oral blood as well as finger stick samples. The year long study will include 120 subjects who will provide one finger stick sample and one blood sample from a periodontal pocket if oral bleeding is present. Researchers will examine the laboratory results of both the finger stick samples and oral blood samples to see if there is a link between A1C levels.

Bacteria and Dental Caries

In order to find out more about the bacteria species that cause early childhood caries, investigators looked at the microbial composition of dental plaque in 42 children with early childhood caries and 40 children without dental caries. Results showed the presence of a pathogen that was not previously known to cause caries: Scardovia wiggsiae. Scardovia wiggsiae was associated with severe early childhood caries and were found in the mouths of children with early childhood caries even when Streptococcus mutans was not. Streptococcus mutans, Veillonella parvula, Streptococcus cristatus and Actinomyces gerensceriae were the other species found to be associated with early childhood caries. Streptococcus mutans and Scardovia wiggsiae were the main caries related species.