How to Store Baby Teeth

You may want to save your child's baby teeth once they fall out for several reasons. Many parents like to keep their child's baby teeth for memory. Some parents choose to save their child's baby teeth for medical reasons. Research has found that children's baby teeth contain stem cells that can be extracted from the pulp of the tooth. Researchers believe that these stem cells are useful in the same way as the stem cells from umbilical cord blood are.

Things You'll Need

  • Memory book, tooth bank, or keepsake box

Instructions

  1. Saving for Memory

    • 1

      Buy a baby tooth keepsake box, tooth bank, or memory book that has a compartment for storing teeth. Some have a compartment for storing each tooth individually along with a place for writing the date the tooth fell out. Decide whether you want to save your child's first tooth, his first tooth that falls out (which often may be the first tooth he got as a baby), or all of his baby teeth.

    • 2

      Scrub your child's tooth with a toothbrush when it falls out.

    • 3

      Store the tooth/teeth in the memory box or book as each one falls.

    Storing your Child's Teeth for Stem Cells

    • 4

      Research whether there is a tooth bank near you. Because the teeth have to reach the tooth bank facility within 48 hours, it is important that you live near a facility.

    • 5

      Register in advance with a tooth bank. It will send you a kit to collect your child's tooth when it falls out.

    • 6

      Place your child's tooth in the kit when it falls out, and follow the instructions for storing and shipping the tooth to the tooth bank. Each bank's policies and procedures are different; some require you to go to your child's dentist for help preserving the tooth before you send it, others allow you to do so yourself. The facility will extract stem cells from your child's tooth and notify you as to the success of the procedure.

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