Stem cell banking for a healthier future?

For some time stem cells have been used to treat diseases of the blood but now they are being trialled for treating many other medical conditions. I love the idea that it’s possible to store stem cells of babies and children as insurance against future disease.
Already some parents are arranging for the stem cells to be collected from the umbilical cord blood at birth. But what happens when the birth of your child is sudden and unplanned? As a parent whose child arrived prematurely I can assure you that having someone on hand with an icebox in order to collect the stem cells is not front of mind.
In these instances, a parent committed to collecting their child’s stem cells would have to consider an alternative route and taking stem cells from teeth can be a viable option. There are several tooth ‘banking’ organisations in the UK. As you would expect, the dental profession has a critical role to play in building awareness. Banking today may mean your child can benefit from a therapy in later life which has yet to be invented! The dental profession may also witness diseases beyond that of obvious dental pathology being cured.