WISDOM TOOTH: AS A SOURCE OF STEM CELLS

The unwanted so called wisdom tooth has now turned out to be a boon in modern science biologically. For most of us wisdom tooth has been an annoyance that eventually needs to be removed. Now a groundbreaking research has revealed that wisdom teeth contain a valuable reservoir of tissues that have the potential to create stem cells. Thus everyone can carry their own stem cells repository for their future use when needed.

Let me brief you on what are stem cells and why are they important to us. Well stem cells are the undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types commonly, embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells which are commonly found in tissues such as brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin and liver. These stem cells mature into other organs and tissues like bones, heart muscle, nerve cells, etc. 

Till date these stem cells were derived from the embryo, placenta, umbilical cord, amniotic fluid, bone marrow. Stem cells are converted to specialized cells that can be used to repair and regenerate the damaged or diseased tissues. Recently researchers have found these stem cells in the soft pulp inside the tooth that contain a population of cells known as mesenchymal stromal cells that are similar to cells found in bone marrow.

As the wisdom teeth are commonly discarded as clinical waste, the stem cells inside them can be collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored for many years. Stem cells extracted from wisdom teeth have shown promising results in regenerating damaged bones, cornea and cardiac muscles.

Stem cells taken from the dental pulp tissue have proven to regenerate nerves in damaged spinal cord, regenerate pancreatic cell lineage used for therapy in diabetes. Dental pulp from deciduous (baby) teeth is an advantageous source of young stem cells.

Now you can preserve your own stem cells for future regenerative therapies. You can discuss with your dentist before planning for extraction so that they can help you out in the further procedure for stem cell banking.

WISDOM TEETH

Wisdom teeth are the last erupting teeth in humans. Its with the eruption of these teeth our dentition is completed. They erupt two in the upper jaw, one on either side and two in lower jaw,one on either side.
Now you must be surprised why they are called so, it is because they generally erupt during late teens or early twenties.But many times our jaws are not large enough to accommodate these teeth and its why they cause more problems in mouth than any other teeth.

Now let me explain you what kind of problems we exactly come across with these so called ''wisdom teeth''.
when these teeth are blocked from erupting,its termed impaction. A common problem face among many of us.
Sometimes it partially comes out and then cause pain, infection, damage to the adjacent teeth, crowding of teeth. But then sometimes its totally impacted.

We generally experience pain because these partly erupted teeth are difficult to clean and the accumulated food particles cause the gums around the tooth to get infected, this infection reflects as pain and swelling around the area.

Let me give you some remedies to overcome the pain that often disturbs our routine:

• Try chewing gum on the side where you are experiencing pain for it massages the paining area and may give a temporary relief.

• Use a topical numbing agent.These topicals are available in any pharmacy.All you have to do is apply the numbing gel in the paining area to numb the site upto thirty minutes at a time.

• Try a warm saltwater rinse.

Finally if all these tips doesnt work out then you always do have a dentist to solve your problem.
When you visit a dentist you are initially treated with pain relieving medicaments.
And if still the pain persists your dentist may insist you on removal of the particular tooth.

There is absolutely nothing to panic,as these teeth merely play any role in any of the normal functions. Extraction can be a permenant solution for the problem.