Baby teeth might be source of stem cells

AUSTIN, Texas, July 17 (UPI) -- A Texas company has reportedly started freezing stem cells taken from baby teeth pulp tissue in hopes the cells might some day lead to disease treatments.

BioEden Inc., which opened for business last week, told the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, it's betting the science eventually will catch up with its aspirations.

"We are absolutely confident this will work," Jeff Johnson, president of Austin's BioEden, told the newspaper. "All indications are this is a wonderful source of stem cells."

The company said it expects baby teeth stem cells might eventually be used for bone, teeth nerve cell regeneration and even in treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Stem cells have the potential of transforming themselves into any organ or tissue in the human body, with the potential of being able to cure or treat maladies for which there is no current treatment.