FAQ's

What are Cells?
Cells make up all the body's tissue and organs such as the heart, liver, brain, and skin. Cells serve both a structural and a functional role, performing a wide range of actions to enable the body to work in a normal and healthy state. Most cells in the body have already become what they are programmed to become and will not change. This means, for example, that a heart cell will always be a heart cell and a liver cell will always be a liver cell.

What are stem cells?
Stem cells can divide and change into particular types of cells, which under controlled conditions, can grow into organs, bones and tissue, or developed stem cells can work on repairing the immune system. In fact, stem cells can create replacement cells for those that are lost or damaged by injury or disease

What are tooth stem cells?
Tooth stem cells are stem cells found in the "deciduous" or "baby" teeth of children.  Recent studies show that baby teeth stem cells appear to have the ability to develop into more types of body tissue than other types of stem cells. This difference opens the door to more therapeutic applications.

What's the difference between cord blood cells and tooth stem cells?
Umbilical cord blood contains a rich source of hematopoetic stem cells which can be used to treat many types of blood diseases such as Leukemia.  Primary teeth contain a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells which can be used to treat heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, paralysis from spinal cord injury and to grow replacement bone, cartilage and teeth.

What can tooth stem cells do for my child?
Stem cell therapy is emerging as a revolutionary new way to treat disease and injury, with wide-ranging medical benefits. It works by introducing stem cells into an area where the normal cells have lost their function due to disease or damage. The stem cells then replace or repair the damaged cells and restore normal function.  If ever your child's tooth cells are needed in the future, whether to treat a disease or repair an injury, they will be available ready for use.

Is there a difference between baby teeth and wisdom teeth?
Although it has been known for several years that wisdom teeth will yield valuable cell populations, research has found that those cell populations have less therapeutic potential than the cell populations found in primary, or "baby" teeth. For example, baby teeth cells more readily form neural tissue, and have the demonstrated ability to form bone and fatty tissue as well, which has not been achieved with wisdom teeth cells. There is much research left to be conducted, but the existing research has clearly shown that primary teeth are a better source for therapeutic cells than wisdom teeth.

What illnesses can Stem Cells treat?
Click here for a list of the types of diseases and conditions that stem cells can help or that therapies are in the process of being developed for.

How are Stem Cell treatments being used today?
Stem cell therapy has been used successfully hundreds of times in countries around the world.   It is believed that stem cell therapy may eventually offer remedies for such conditions as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injury, MS, ALS, and certain forms of cancer and heart disease. Cell therapy is also being used in experiments to graft new skin cells to treat serious burn victims, and to grow new corneas for the sight-impaired. In all of these applications, the goal is for the healthy cells to become integrated into the body and begin to function like the patient's own cells. The results of these experiments have far exceeded expectations. Even though cell therapy is a new science, early results have caused great optimism within the medical and health care industries.

What are the differences between Allogeneic and Autologous stem cell transplant?
Allogeneic stem cell transplant uses donor cells from a public cell bank.  An autologous stem cell transplant uses the patient's own stem cells.   There are many advantages of autologous transplant including; no immune reaction and tissue rejection of the cells, no immunosuppressive therapy needed, and significantly reduced risk of communicable diseases. BioEDEN only offers an autologous transplant option.

Can my child's tooth stem cells be used to treat other members of my family?
Tooth stem cells can potentially be used to treat conditions in first or second degree blood relatives (siblings, parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts) in addition to the donor.  Please see previous question.

What do I do when my child's tooth becomes loose?
As soon as you've enrolled with BioEDEN, we'll send you a collection kit containing all the instructions and information you'll need to help preserve the tooth stem cells.  Please also see the answer below.

What happens if my child's tooth falls out before the collection kit arrives?
Simply place the tooth in a cup of milk in the refrigerator.  If you haven't already enrolled, then call us on 888-315-3843 x3 to complete your registration process and payment in full.  We will then help you make the necessary arrangements to ship the tooth successfully to our lab. If you've enrolled already, then call us on 888-315-3843 x3 and we can find out how soon your collection kit will be arriving.

How long do I have from when the tooth becomes loose to get it over to you?
Once it's fallen out, you have 48 hours to get the tooth to our laboratory. Ideally, you should enroll with BioEDEN before your child's tooth becomes loose.

Can I send any of my child's teeth that have fallen out?
There are 12 usable teeth.  Those are the Central Incisors; Lateral Incisors; and Canines.  These are the top front six teeth and the lower front six teeth.  There'll be a diagram identifying these in your collection kit.

How long does it take for my child's tooth cells to be frozen?
We will extract the cells from the tooth within 24 hours of receiving it.  Upon a successful extraction following our stringent procedures and within FDA guidelines, then we will cryogenically store the cells under a unique sample tracking number.

Where will the tooth cells be stored?
They'll be stored in two seperate locations in our storage system. All of our storage facilities are monitored and controlled by experienced Bioeden biologists. Storing the sample in two seperate locations provide an extra degree of security for you.

How long is the sample stored for?
The sample is stored for as long as you maintain your contract with us.

Who owns my child's tooth cells?
Ownership of the child's tooth cells belongs to the parent or legal guardian until the child's 18th birthday.  Then full ownership is passed to the child.

What happens if BioEDEN Baby Tooth Stem Cell Bank ceases trading or is taken over?
Although it is not expected that BioEDEN Baby Tooth Stem Cell Bank will stop operations, there are plans in place to transfer the samples safely to another facility which would then take over the maintenance of the samples.

What are the costs?
The enrollment fee for the first child is $595 and subsequent children receive a 5% family discount.  Each subsequent child must be registered with the same guardian.

Do you inform me after freezing my child's tooth stem cells?
Yes, we send you out a notification verifying your child's tooth stem cells have been successfully stored.

What happens if you cannot extract any tooth stem cells from my child's tooth?
We will send you a letter immediately informing you that the process has been unsuccessful.  If your child still has viable teeth left, then we will complete the process again free and as part of our service.

What do you do with my child's tooth stem cells over the years?
We store them on the registered child's behalf and we continue to do so for as long as you maintain your contract with us.

What happens if I stop paying the storage fees?
If you stop paying the storage fees, we reserve the right to remove the cells from storage.

What happens if I need access to the tooth stem cells?
You will need to send us a written request with details of your medical doctor or hospital manager.  They will be responsible for collecting the cells.