Stem cell-based technique developed for treatment of cleft palate

Stem cell-based technique developed for treatment of cleft palate

The treatment and repair of cleft palate in infants took a step in the right direction recently – and stem cells are once again at the centre of the story, as recently reported in Science Daily

The article focuses on a new technique, first reported in the The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, which details a new procedure in which stem cells are used to encourage new bone growth to close the upper jaw cleft. The procedure is performed on infants when they are just a few months old, and could negate the requirement for bone graft surgery later in life, currently a common requirement in the long-term treatment of cleft palate.

The article cites umbilical cord cells as the source of stem cells for the procedure, however as regular readers of our articles on the Grace Century website will be aware, these stem cells need to be stored first. The window of opportunity for umbilical cord stem cell collection and storage is tiny in relative terms, basically it must happen at birth. Alternatively, stem cells can be collected and stored for several years of a child’s life, right up until the age that they still have baby teeth, via the dental stem cell storage system Store-A-Tooth, development by our portfolio partner Provia.

Grace Century President and Director of Research Scott Wolf commented “Here is another new story of breakthroughs, this time for Cord Blood. We keep seeing therapies being done on the whole body, with life saving and changing solutions. The only problem is that you must store the stem cells first! Provia laboratories storage process, Proviacord, and its dental stem cell banking solution, Store-a-Tooth, give parents two tools to help protect the future health of their children”.

Read the full story on Science Daily here.

Visit the website of our portfolio partner product Store-A-Tooth here.

Check out this video about Store-A-Tooth here.