A recent report suggests that dental stem cells could be the potential cure for type 1 diabetes. With three millions of Americans reportedly suffer from type 1 diabetes, scientists look for more ways to find treatments. One of them is using stem cells to produce insulin.

The beginning of possibilities

Dental stem cells are useful, not only for repairing cavities or cracks in a tooth, but evidence has pointed out other benefits for neurological conditions and brain injuries. Journal of Dental Research found that dental stem cells can possibly treat type 1 diabetes - describing the process as formation of an 'islet-like aggregates that produce insulin'.

It is also less invasive since the stem cells can be collected from more than one tooth without performing painful surgery. Dr. Peter Verlander said that one tooth can produce billions of cells with minimum risk of immune rejection since a patient will use his own dental stem cells.

Dental stem cells are not a replacement for bone marrow stem cells or cord blood banking but still, Verlander claimed that it is a good and important investment albeit the costly process, NorthwestHerald reported.

Stem cells: The future's trend

A stem cell is one of the future trends in healthcare as it can be combined with gene cutting that promotes human body repairing, PharmacyTimes has learned. From growing the skin to repairing a damaged tooth - the diverse experiments have allowed scientists to be a step closer to more disease treatments including diabetes.

The dental stem cells can be obtained from the baby teeth that naturally lost or extracted teeth. Since 2000, dental stem cell research has gone through fast pace. Currently, researchers are intensively studying to determine if the cells that dental stem cells will one day be opted as an option to treat spinal cord injury, heart attack, and type 1 diabetes.

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