Here are some frequently asked questions and answers to provide a better understanding of the process of banking stem cells from teeth.
First, there is evidence that the younger the tooth or the donor is, the more potent the stem cells are. Second, Store-A-Tooth preserves dental stem cells from teeth that are already extracted or removed by a dentist – which would otherwise be thrown away – so there is no extra procedure, discomfort, or inconvenience for you or your child.
Our 10,000 sq. ft. facility is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks, FDA registered and compliant, CLIA certified, and licensed by the Departments of Health in New York, New Jersey, California, Indiana, and Maryland.
Our lab has over 10 years of history of preserving human tissues, blood, and stem cells for clients in over 13 countries, with over 50,000 samples stored.
We selected the Save-a-Tooth device in order to provide the optimal way to transport your teeth, and the dental stem cells they contain, to our laboratory. Save-a-Tooth is a tooth preservation and transport device that was invented by one of our founding advisors, Dr. Paul Krasner. In use for over 20 years and trusted by thousands of dentists, school nurses, athletic coaches and parents throughout the USA. Save-A-Tooth is the only tooth transport device approved by the FDA and accepted by the (American Dental Association (ADA) for transportation of knocked-out teeth for reimplantation.
Store-A-Tooth strongly recommends that the tooth or teeth be professionally removed or extracted by a dentist and promptly placed into our sterile tooth transport device for shipment to our lab. We recommend enrolling well in advance of when the tooth may come out so you have plenty of time to receive the kit and prepare for collecting the tooth or teeth.
Ask your dentist if he or she offers Store-A-Tooth. If not, please email us or call us toll-free at 1-877-867-5753, or ask your dentist to contact us. We will work directly with your dentist’s office to provide all needed materials and instructions.
Many dental offices are already equipped and ready to provide Store-A-Tooth, but any dentist who can extract teeth can collect teeth for banking with Store-A-Tooth. It is best if dentists not currently registered with Store-A-Tooth are contacted in advance of your arrival. If your dentist or oral surgeon is not currently equipped to provide Store-A-Tooth, please call us toll free at 1-877-867-5753 or email us and we will coordinate with their office to answer any questions they may have.
You can collect baby teeth for dental stem cell banking at home, with the following restrictions:
However, even for loose baby teeth that typically come out at home, Store-A-Tooth strongly recommends that a dentist or oral surgeon collect the tooth or teeth and place them immediately into our tooth transport kit. By working closely with dentists, Store-A-Tooth ensures that teeth are collected under optimal conditions for recovery of the stem cells.
All healthy teeth are good candidates for banking, including baby teeth that are coming out naturally, wisdom teeth that are surgically removed, as well as healthy teeth removed for orthodontic reasons.
However, it is best if baby teeth that are coming out naturally (‘exfoliating’) are collected as soon as your dentist recommends; for some tooth types, the process of exfoliation can result in the almost complete loss of the pulp.
In many cases, yes. However, teeth with extensive decay, or where there is reason to believe that the pulp has been compromised, should be discarded. Consult with your dentist or call our Clinical Specialists at 1-877-867-5753.
It’s best to contact Store-A-Tooth as soon as you begin to consider banking your child’s dental stem cells so that we can ship our tooth collection and transport kit to you before the tooth or teeth are ready to come out, and discuss with you the best timing for your dental appointment.
Yes. We always advise that you call us to enroll in advance of your dental appointment. We will then send a Store-A-Tooth kit directly to you, which you will bring with you to the dentist on the day of your appointment.
Your dentist will make that decision - some dentists charge a nominal fee for the tooth extraction procedure.
A Tooth Fairy certificate is included in each Store-A-Tooth kit that your dentist can sign to certify that your child has lost a tooth. In our experience, the Tooth Fairy always accepts the certificate in lieu of a tooth!
Your dentist places your tooth or teeth into our FDA-approved tooth transport kit which both protects and nourishes the cells during transport. We will work with you and your dentist to arrange for FedEx to pick up the kit with the teeth from your dentist’s office for overnight shipping to our laboratory.
All teeth are given an initial inspection upon arrival in the laboratory. If the teeth pass this inspection, the teeth are disinfected, the soft tissue is isolated and processed for cryopreservation. The processed cells are equilibrated with a cryoprotectant to stabilize the sample, frozen using our controlled-rate freezers, and transferred to liquid nitrogen vapor phase freezers for long-term storage. You will receive a laboratory report as confirmation that the sample was received, processed, and successfully stored.
Once the cells have been processed and stored in our freezers, all biological activity has stopped; as a result, cells that have been properly banked can be stored almost indefinitely. Human cells have been effectively stored for up to 50 years.
All samples are bar-coded and tracked through the entire process using a sophisticated sample management and logistics system. These types of management systems have been used for years to collect millions of samples.
Our mission is to provide the best possible dental stem cell banking service available. The Store-A-Tooth service combines industry-leading tooth transport, cell processing, cryopreservation, and biorepository protocols and logistics. We offer a range of service options. Our team has decades of experience in dentistry, scientific research and development, and healthcare management.
Still have questions? We’re here to help. Call and talk with a clinical specialist today.