Saving lives one tooth at a time

Researchers from the National Institute of Health discovered the presence of stem cells in teeth. Dentists familiar with the research formed a company called StemSave in order to store the stem cells from extracted teeth for later use if the patient needs to treat a disease or injury with stem cells - the body's only natural regenerative cells which can grow many different types of tissue.

Dr. Robert Carpenter who owns a practice in Saratoga Springs has joined StemSave to become one of the first dentists in the area to collect and store personal stem cells for future use. 

There are two types of stem cells, Carpenter said. First are the ever-controversial embryonic stem cells which come from human embryos, and second are adult stem cells which are already in every adult's body and can regenerate into many different types of cells. 

"There is a high quantity and quality of stem cells in teeth which are very 'plastic,' meaning they are easily multiplied and are easy to stimulate new growth in so many types of tissue," he said. 

Stem cells can be harvested in routine procedures that dentists perform every day in the office. The best stem cells come from adult wisdom teeth or baby teeth before they become loose. Once the teeth are extracted the cells are preserved and are stored for whenever the patient may need them.

What is unique about using stem cells from teeth is that the cells come from the patient's own body, not someone else's, like using embryonic stem cells. There is no chance that the body will reject the cells or become diseased. 

"The potential here is unbelievable. We really are at the tip of the iceberg in realizing what we can do with these stem cells," Carpenter said. "And to think that they are readily available with procedures that are done every day."

Regenerative medicine is growing exponentially, and by 2020 will be a regular method of disease and injury treatment said Art Greco, CEO of StemSave.

"The thing to think about is that stem cells are the only cells that can regenerate into different cells and tissue than they once were. Regenerative medicine addresses disease and trauma in a new way. After we become adults, the body degenerates. Stem cells regenerate other cells that are degenerating or dying," Greco said. 

In 2008 in Spain, doctors created a fully-functional wind pipe from adult stem cells for a woman whose natural windpipe was diseased. The wind pipe took a few months to grow from a microscopic cell to a fully functioning organ. It takes a matter of weeks for stem cells to grow from hundreds to billions in order to form new tissue, Greco added. 

"This is really amazing stuff," he said. "This is the future of medicine. Stem cells will change the way we practice medicine all over the world."

Carpenter became involved in StemSave through a fellow dental student Dr. Greg Chotkowski who he studied with at Cornell University. 

"We are really on the cusp of coming up with a sort of 'cure' for many, many diseases," Carpenter said. "We are just around the corner from having an answer for so many different problems from heart disease to cancer to Parkinson's disease. And the resources we need are readily available and are 100 percent compatible with no risk of bodily rejection."

Currently, the National Institute of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are holding 73 clinical trials involving stem cell treatments and the U.S. Department of Defense has announced a $250 million initiative to accelerate research for regenerative medicine to treat soldiers wounded in combat. 

"These things are happening today. Regenerative medicine is no longer something that is of the future. By 2020, the use of regenerative medicine will grow by 50 fold," Carpenter said. "This is personalized medicine that the body will not reject. This is the next phase of modern medicine."

For more information on stem cell storage and regenerative medicine, visit www.stemsave.com or call Dr. Carpenter at (518) 583-4497.