Forget the tooth fairy, now your child's tooth may be far too valuable to leave under a pillow.
“It has been recently discovered that there are stem cells in the pulp chamber of these teeth” said Todd Flower, the director of research at GeneCell International.
They say it's possible to remove those cells now, and freeze them. Then they would be available to treat a variety of diseases, as that child grows older.
But there's a catch.
You can't wait for the tooth to fall out, they must be extracted by a dentist to preserve the cells.
“Even though you know it’s going to come out at a future date, to pull it prematurely may be a tough sell for a lot of children," according to dentist Dr. Jeffrey Kane.
And the cost to store the teeth can be pricey.
The charge to store four teeth for a year is $695 for a year, and for 20 years the costs are $2,295.
And the director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at UM Miller School of medicine, Dr. Joshua Hare, said it's too early to say how much impact baby teeth can have on future medical breakthroughs.
"While the research is extremely encouraging, Hare said "we can't say right now for sure it would be useful in the future, but it doesn't hurt to bank these cells if cost is not a problem."
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