Out of the Mouths of Babes...

According to a report that appeared online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the stem cells in baby teeth can transform themselves into nerve and fat cells in laboratory dishes. "Deciduous teeth may be an ideal resource of stem cells to repair damaged tooth structures, induce bone regeneration and possibly to treat neural tissue injury or degenerative diseases," the report said.

In an interview with UPI, Dr. Songtao Shi said that baby-tooth stem cells are "prolific and versatile." Not only that, "they multiply two to three times faster than stem cells from adult bone marrow and adult teeth," UPI reported. Shi suggests that if grown into tissues and implanted back into a person's body, this should avoid the problem of rejection by the immune system.