Brookside Dental’s Blog

BABY TEETH AND STEM CELL PRODUCTION: HOW BABY TEETH CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE

The following article is reproduced without any alterations from the Woman Dentist Journal 2009. The author of the original article is Joanne Oppenheim, DDS, a pediatric dentist in Illinois. As Bellevue Cosmetic Dentists we do not normally print other peoples’ articles, but this discussion of stem cells harvested from baby teeth is something of very high interest for later life health of an individual. Therefore, we felt we should publish it on our blog site in its original and unedited form. The only thing is that the tissue culture cell photos by Dr Mao are not reproduced here. However, the tissue photos may be seen in the original article or in the article that we posted on our other Cosmetic Bellevue Dentist Blog.

Woman Dentist Journal 2009 Baby Teeth and Stem Cells

As the article points out, stem cells may be taken from baby teeth and preserved for many years for potential use to cure a disease as children age and grow older. My interest in stem cell preservation and research began about 12 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I remember reading an article about saving the cells from the umbilical cord after the birth of the child for research. A week before my due date, I picked up the kit from a hospital and told my doctor about my wishes to preserve the umbilical cord stem cells for my daughter. To my surprise, my obstetrician had never done this procedure before. I quickly realized that this would be a learning experience for all! While still in the delivery room just after my daughter was born, I explained to the doctor what to do with the cord blood.

Since that time, much has changed. I would venture to guess that almost anyone who is pregnant or has had a baby recently has heard about cord blood banking. And since the birth of my daughter, my nieces and nephews have had their cord blood saved as an insurance policy for their future.

In the spring of 2008, I read an article about preserving the stem cells from baby teeth. My first thought was that it was a waste having all of my children’s teeth sent to the tooth fairy instead of to StemSave. During the annual American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry meeting in May, I spoke with the people at the StemSave table. They were doing the same thing with baby teeth as the people 12 years ago were doing with the cord blood.

The value of stem cells in the curing of so many of the deadliest diseases is much better understood today. If we can save the stem cells from baby teeth, it is like receiving another opportunity for the people who did not save their babies’ cord blood.

The more I’ve come to learn about stem cells, the more I realize the potential benefits to people. I like to think that since we’ve learned that very powerful stem cells exist in teeth, we dentists are on the frontlines of this emerging medicine. When I think of the potential of thousands of teeth that are discarded as medical waste, I realize that patients and parents of patients should be given the opportunity to decide if they want to hang on to those stem cells.

All of the parents of our patients who will soon be losing teeth — whether naturally or for orthodontic reasons — receive the pamphlet on StemSave. The parents decide if this is something they would be interested in. It’s a very personal decision, and I like to offer families all of the facts so they can make an informed decision. I recommend going to the Web site, but if they have any questions, they are welcome to call me.

Once parents choose to save their child’s baby teeth, we explain to the child that we will give them a special tooth box and the tooth fairy will still come to their house. There is so much emotion and nostalgia associated with losing baby teeth. While parents may want to take the traditional under-the-pillow route with the first tooth, we try to create a new sense of excitement with sending the tooth off to StemSave. We encourage the child to draw a picture or write a note to let the tooth fairy know where the tooth is and that we only need the stuff on the inside and she can take the stuff on the outside!

When a child comes in for the extraction of a tooth, nothing is different for me. It’s the parents’ responsibility to preregister with StemSave. They handle the transaction directly with StemSave so I don’t have any additional paperwork. When the child sits in the chair for the extraction, the parents have already set up their account with StemSave. Prior to the appointment, StemSave will send a personalized transport kit for the child to my office. The transport kit is ingeniously simple to use. After I extract the tooth, I just drop it into a vial which is marked for that patient. The vial has nutrients that keep the tooth intact. It is placed in the kit, which is designed to induce hypothermia in the tooth without the use of frozen gel packs, so the stem cells are protected during transport to StemSave’s lab. After recovering and securing the tooth in the kit, we notify stemsave directly and they arrange for UPS pickup, and the kit is delivered to their lab for processing.

Our hopes are that these teeth are never needed. Unfortunately, we cannot know who will have medical problems in the future and will need their stem cells for a cure. Whoever would have thought that your baby teeth could save your life?

Sources of Dental Stem Cells

In a child, the most accessible stem cells are from the oral cavity. For deciduous teeth, the best candidates are moderately resorbed canine and incisors with the presence of healthy pulp. In children, other sources of easily accessible stem cells are supernumerary teeth, mesodens, over-retained deciduous teeth associated with congenitally missing permanent teeth, and prophylactically removed deciduous molars for orthodontic indications.

Conceptually, dental stem cells have the potential to differentiate into neural cell lineages. Recently, investigators have discovered a unique type of stem cell in the dental pulp of deciduous teeth. Stem cells from deciduous teeth, which are formed during the sixth week of human development, behave differently than other adult stem cells. These immature stem cells are capable of extensive proliferation and differentiation, which make them an important resource of stem cells for the regeneration and repair of craniofacial defects, tooth loss, and bone regeneration. However, a number of recent studies show that stem cells from teeth may be manipulated to grow into cell types of a completely different tissue. This ability is called transdifferentiation or plasticity, and different types of adult stem cells have varying degrees of plasticity. Given their ability to produce and secrete neurotrophic factors, dental stem cells may also be beneficial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and the repair of motoneurons following injury. Indeed, dental stem cells from deciduous teeth have been induced to express neural markers such as nestin. The expression of neural markers in dental stem cells stimulates the imagination for their potential use in neural regeneration such as in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The potential of dental stem cells in both dental and non-dental regeneration continues to be further explored by researchers. Dental stem cells that have been isolated to date, either from deciduous teeth or permanent teeth, are considered non-embryonic or adult stem cells.

Stem cells recovered from dental pulp can differentiate into bone, cartilage, and adipose cells in vitro (outside the body).

A unique property of stem cells is that they are able to proliferate in vitro in a cell culture medium.

Photos in the original article are the Courtesy of Dr. Mao.

For more information about the process and details of how to join StemSave’s nationwide network of dentists, log onto www.StemSave.com.

BELLEVUE DENTIST SUMMARIZES THE EXPANDED FUNCTIONS DENTAL ASSISTANT (EFDA) PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State in 2008 put into effect the expanded functions dental assistant (EFDA) program at three locations: Seattle Central Community College, South Puget Sound Community College, and Spokane Community College. The program is designed to give dental assistants expanded abilities in the restorative dentistry arena. The Washington State Dental Association (WSDA) was instrumental in moving the program through the state legislature by making sure the program was well understood by both dentists and legislators. Two classes of EFDAs have graduated from Seattle Central CC. The program is modeled after similar programs in the Indian Health Services, the US Army and the US Navy, which for differing years have had thriving EFDA programs. These EFDA graduates are now doing expanded duties in restorative dentistry in many dental offices in Washington State. Our lead assistant at Brookside Dental, Bellevue, WA, who has been with us for 15 years, has applied to the EFDA program at Seattle Central CC and if accepted will complete the program in the summer of 2010.

Washington State has for many years allowed dental hygienists to do expanded functions in restorative dentistry. Advantages to having the new program for dental assistants are first that dental assistants generally work more directly associated with the dentists and are therefore more experienced in restorative work and second that the more highly paid and more specialized dental hygienists will continue to provide hygiene care which can not be provided by dental assistants in Washington State.

According to the WSDA, the US Army has a report on EFDAs that indicates that dentists that work with an EFDA provider are 40 percent more productive than their counterpart dentists working without an EFDA without any compromise in the quality of dental care delivered to the patients.

Although the end result is the same and should allow more people to have access to high quality dentistry, the route to graduation at the three schools is different. SCCC has their students do all of their hands-on clinical training on patients that come to the vocational schools’ clinic and follow that with a 20-24 hour externship at a community health clinic. The other two schools use private dentists under contract to teach individual students within the private practice offices during the regular day while seeing scheduled patients of record. Administrators at the different schools champion the method that they use as the better model. Ultimately all EFDA graduates must pass a state board examination to receive an EFDA credential.

It may be too early to determine if EFDAs will increase the access to care for people, but there appears to be some anecdotal evidence that they are helping to address a portion of that problem according to the WSDA. There is no doubt that the Indian Health Care model definitely provides increased access to care for those people served by those providers. At this time, the EFDAs are being trained in three metropolitan areas where dentists are not in short supply as they are in some of the smaller communities in the state. These smaller communities will need to be given the opportunity to have their dental assistants be able to enroll in some type of EFDA program in the future. Additional information regarding this program can be obtained at the SCCC EFDA program, email efda@sccd.ctc.edu, SPSCC EFDA program, email jmartin@spscc.ctc.edu, or at SCC EFDA program, email bmoneymaker@scc.spokane.edu.

SEATTLE VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE GIVING CAMPAIGN

The Seattle Vocational Institute is beginning its Annual Giving Campaign to support the Dental Assistant students at SVI. Educated and motivated students are the key to a productive society. That is the primary reason that SVI has focused on providing a quality education in the dental field with longterm career possibilities to over fifty graduates of this program each year.

It is hoped that as many people as possible can donate to this well run program which trains minority students and students of color for jobs as dental assistants. The majority of the Seattle Vocational Institute students are low-income, minority students who rely on financial aid and scholarships to be able to attend school. The SVI dental assisting program has maintained a phenominal 98% job placement rate for its graduates. Statistics compiled by the Washington State Board of Health Disparities reported that SVI trained and placed the highest percentage of under-represented minorities who graduated from any American Dental Association accredited dental program in Washington State.

The Seattle Vocational Institute students complete externships at area public dental clinics and private dental offices where they gain hands on experience before they accept a permanent position in the dental field. Much of the success of the SVI Dental Assistant Program can be attributed to a generous grant from the Seattle Foundation and donations from Patterson Dental Company and Arnold Dental Company. New technology, which includes digital radiography and intra-oral imaging, was added to the SVI dental program to aide both the student curriculum and the patient care services. This new technology helps the dental assistant students enter the workplace with state-of-the-art learning and ability. Many individuals, foundations, and companies have supported this valuable program. Donors may contact Dr Pollene Speed McIntyre, Dental Clinic Director, Seattle Vocational Institute, at pspeed@sccd.ctc.edu or visit the website of SVI at http://sviweb.sccd.edu/clinic.

I just posted an article on Bellevue Dentist extreme makeover smiles on my other blog.

IMPLANT DENTISTRY FOR BEAUTIFUL SMILES

BELLEVUE DENTIST IMPLANTS

My most recent article is about Dentistry Implants. A summary is:

Dental Implants are changing how beautiful new smiles are created for people. Dental bridges used to be the standard restorative dental treatment when a tooth or two was missing and they are still used in many instances. However, people are discovering that dental implants are more comfortable and natural feeling than bridges or dentures in most cases.

The entire article may be viewed at my other Bellevue Cosmetic Dentistry Blog.

If you are interested in a consultation to discuss dental implants with one of the cosmetic dentists at Brookside Dental in Bellevue, WA, please call 425-643-2818 or email our office at info@brooksidedental.com.

COSMETIC DENTISTRY BLOGS

BROOKSIDE DENTAL LOGO

Cosmetic Dentists at Brookside Dental Bellevue, WA, have started a new blog on various aspects of cosmetic dentistry. The new blog and its posts can be seen at our NEW BELLEVUE DENTIST BLOG where various aspects of creating beautiful smiles and keeping healthy teeth will be discussed. The new dental blog starts with an article on How to Choose a Cosmetic Dentist, discusses the use of Porcelain Veneers, discusses how a new smile can be created using tooth-colored Bonded Fillings, and a Cosmetic Dentistry Smile Video have been discussed so far in the new blog.

Other interesting dental blogs that Brookside Dental has been following are the Dental Implant Blog which is full great dentistry and dental management information and the South Florida Smile Blog which has wonderful before and after photos and testimonials from patients.

BELLEVUE DENTISTRY AT BROOKSIDE DENTAL

BROOKSIDE DENTAL RECEPTION AREA

We at Brookside Dental provide gentle cosmetic and family dentistry in a relaxed state of the art setting. Our office was featured on the front page of the Seattle P.I. in 1997 in an article that focused on decay prevention in children. Brookside Dental also was featured on the Today Show in 2003 as an example of a modern dental spa. Dr Cynthia Pauley and Dr Patricia Pauley have been featured Doctor of Dentistry Magazine, Bellevue Reflections Magazine, and the Top Dentists Issue of Seattle Magazine. With our advanced artistry, technology and materials, plus an on-site porcelain artist, we can create beautiful, durable and natural appearing smiles.

We cater to the entire family. For Kids, our special Teddy Bear chair and children’s room keep the little ones looking forward to their dental visits. Special touches for adults include movie glasses and a huge movie library.

Give us a call for more information on how we can help you and your family with your beautiful smiles.

Submit to Social Websites

Technorati Profile

BELLEVUE COSMETIC DENTIST SLIDE SHOW

The Bellevue Dentists at Brookside Dental are always looking for better ways to serve our patients and friends. Recently, we put together a short two minute Bellevue Cosmetic Dentistry Slide Video Collage of some of our recent Cosmetic Dental patients. We are very proud of the work that we have done and the many smiles that we have enhanced. The video represents a sampling of many types of work performed to create or enhance smiles. Each person shown in the video has had different types of Cosmetic Dentistry work performed to give the beautiful end results exhibited in each situation. The work includes extensive restoration with all porcelain crowns and porcelain veneers as well as tooth colored fillings and tooth colored dental bonding. Several cases involve cosmetic movement of a few teeth to give perfectly aligned smiles. Most cosmetic dental smile alterations and creations involve some type of tooth whitening in addition to the other cosmetic dentistry work that is done.

Submit to Social Websites

BELLEVUE DENTIST PATIENTS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS AND DESIRES

BELLEVUE DENTIST WEBSITE

BELLEVUE DENTISTRY Should Be Tailored for the Unique Needs of Each Patient.
At our Bellevue Dentist Office, it would be nice if every patient that called us after a referral from a friend or after visiting our website fit into a cookie-cutter mold for dental services. Everyone would get the same dental work done at the same cost and, most importantly, they’d all see the same positive results and have the same beautiful smiles. An additional benefit to both the patients and dentists would be no hassle insurance, since the insurance companies would be paying the same amount for everyone.

Unfortunately that is not how dentistry works. In reality, the needs and desires of each of our Bellevue Dental patients are unique. Each dental patient should have their needs and desires uniquely tailored to them. Every dentist should realize the following things:

• Each dentist is in a unique market with a unique set of patients
• Each dentist has been in business for a unique amount of time
• Each dentist is offering a unique and hopefully pleasant experience
• Each dentist has a unique in-office ambience
• Each dentist has a unique approach to utilizing new dental technology
• Each dentist has a unique website, assuming they have one
• Each dentist advertises differently to attract new patients
• Each dentist communicates uniquely with his or her patients
• Each dentist utilizes different dental labs and suppliers
• Each dentist has unique hygienists, assistants, and front office support staff

Many principles of Bellevue Dentistry apply across all, or most, dental practices and dental specialties. However, with so many unique variables and unique characteristics related to each dentist and their resulting dental work, the approach to dentistry will vary among different dentists. These variables as they are combined will result in a unique outcome for each dentist. Each dentist should work with each patient to customize the work required to reach the goals of each of their patients, which will always be unique. Each dentist must have the proper equipment and properly trained staff to deliver a high quality dental product to every patient.

At Brookside Dental Bellevue, we expect to deliver the highest quality of dentistry that can be provided. We accomplish this by continually updating our technology and office, having highly trained and friendly staff members, and through continuing education classes taken by our dentists and staff members. We have an onsite porcelain artist to insure consistently high quality porcelain veneers and porcelain crowns. As Bellevue Dentists, we work with each individual person to customize the work required to reach the goals of each of our patients. Our Bellevue Dentist approach and treatment plan will always be unique for each person. Additional information regarding general family dentistry and cosmetic dentistry can be obtained at our Brookside Dental Bellevue website.

Submit to Social Websites

Technorati Profile

For examples of Bellevue Cosmetic Dentist recent cases VIEW BROOKSIDE DENTAL SMILE MAKEOVERS using various cosmetic dental techniques.

BELLEVUE DENTISTS CREATE COMFORTABLE DENTAL ATMOSPHERE FOR CHILDREN WITH A TEDDY BEAR CHAIR AND A LARGE GREEN FROG

Using a giant Teddy Bear Chair to help children feel comfortable and at ease when they visit their Bellevue Dentists was the idea of Dr Patricia Pauley at Brookside Dental Bellevue. Getting children to feel comfortable with their dental environment is a major step toward maintaining a healthy mouth by preventing tooth decay and establishing good oral health at an early age.

Bellevue Dentists Teddy-Bear Chair

The Teddy Bear Chair was patented by Bellevue Dentist Dr Patricia Pauley and was featured in the Seattle Times Newspaper (Monday, August 12, 1991, pg 4) in a large article about Seattle Area Inventors’ Dreams. Children at Brookside Dental Bellevue under the age of 12 are examined and have their teeth cleaned in the friendly confines of the Teddy Bear Chair. All young children that are first time visitors to our Bellevue Dentistry Offfice are given a free ride in the patented Teddy Bear Chair. In addition to the Teddy Bear Chair, the entire room is set aside for children and is decorated with balloons and stuffed animals of all types. After the children have had their initial visit and free ride in the chair, they are comfortable and relaxed during future visits to Brookside Dental Bellevue.

A large green frog is used by Bellevue Family Dentists to assist in the training of young children about the proper method of tooth brushing to insure good oral hygiene. Upon learning the proper way to brush teeth with the green frog demonstration, children will have acquired the first step for keeping their mouths healthy. As Children get older, the Bellevue Dentists at Brookside Dental will educate the children and their parents about the value of dental sealants. Dr Patricia Pauley was among the very first
Seattle Family Dentists to use and understand the potential value of dental sealants, which she has been using for about 25 years on her young patients.

Tooth Brushing Demonstration with Frog and Toothbrush

Although Dr Pat and Dr Cindy specialize in Cosmetic Dentistry, they continue to provide exceptional family dentistry to all of their patients and their families. Additional information about the many dental services that they provide can be read by visiting other areas of the Bellevue Brookside Dental Website.

Submit to Social Websites