IN SHORT
Some companies offer to store stem cells from the placenta or from the pulp of baby teeth for possible future use. There are no approved treatments using these stored cells, and experts say the evidence does not support the claims made to parents.
What is placenta & baby tooth stem cell banking?
Placenta banking stores tissue or cells from the placenta after birth. Tooth banking stores the soft pulp inside baby teeth or extracted adult teeth, which contains dental pulp stem cells. Both mainly contain mesenchymal-type stromal cells, not the blood-forming stem cells found in cord blood. They are sold as ‘biological insurance’ for a child’s future.
How it works
For placenta banking, tissue is collected after delivery and shipped to a lab for processing and freezing. For tooth banking, a loose baby tooth, or a tooth removed by a dentist, is placed in a kit and sent quickly to the lab, which extracts and freezes the pulp cells. To be useful, the tooth must be healthy and still have living pulp. Any future therapy would require growing the cells in a lab, which is regulated as a drug.
Legal status
In the US, storing these cells is legal, but any treatment using expanded placental or dental pulp cells would be regulated as a biologic (Section 351) needing FDA approval, and none is approved. In the UK, a 2025 investigation in The BMJ reported that tooth banking firms made unproven claims, and the advertising regulator was reviewing several of them. In the EU, therapies made from these cells would be advanced therapy medicinal products, and none is authorised. Neither the AAP nor ACOG recommends placenta or tooth banking.
What the evidence shows
Dental pulp stem cells have been studied mainly in the lab and in animals, with small early human studies in dental and bone repair. A University of Kent stem cell expert quoted by The BMJ in 2025 described a lack of research using these cells to treat patients.
There is no human evidence that a child’s banked tooth or placenta cells can treat autism, diabetes, multiple sclerosis or heart disease, despite such marketing. Placental tissue products have some use in wound care, but this does not depend on banking a family’s own placenta. Any future therapies would likely use well-characterised donor cell lines rather than personal banked samples.
Commonly marketed for
- Future regenerative treatments for the child
- Type 1 diabetes
- Autism
- Multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s
- Heart conditions
- Dental and bone repair
Cost
The BMJ (2025) reported UK tooth banking costs of about £1,900 upfront plus £95 a year. No reliable independent source for US tooth or placenta banking prices was found, so no USD range is given.
Risks
- Paying ongoing fees for storage with no proven use
- Samples may be unusable if the tooth or tissue is damaged or delayed in transit
- Misleading health claims during a vulnerable time
- Company closure or loss of stored samples
- False reassurance that delays proven care or public cord blood donation
Questions to ask first
- Are there any approved treatments that use banked tooth or placenta cells today?
- What happens if the sample arrives with too few living cells?
- What exactly do I own, and what happens to my sample if the company closes?
- What published human evidence supports the health claims in your marketing?
Before You Pay: The Stem Cell Clinic Checklist
- 20 questions every legitimate clinic should answer in writing
- A red-flag scorecard to spot unregulated marketing
- Realistic 2026 cost ranges: US, Mexico, Panama & Europe
- How to find a registered clinical trial
Placenta & Baby Tooth Stem Cell Banking: FAQs
Can baby tooth stem cells treat diseases now?
No. There are no approved treatments using banked dental pulp cells. Research is still mostly in labs and animals.
Is placenta banking the same as cord blood banking?
No. Placenta and tooth tissues mainly contain stromal cells, not the blood-forming stem cells in cord blood that are used in approved transplants.
Do medical groups recommend tooth or placenta banking?
No major medical group recommends it. A 2025 BMJ investigation criticised misleading marketing claims.
How much does tooth banking cost?
The BMJ reported UK prices of around £1,900 upfront plus £95 a year. US prices vary by company.
Is it harmful?
Collection itself is low risk. The main risks are financial and the false hope created by unproven claims.
Related guides
- Cord Blood Banking Cost
- Public vs Private Cord Blood Banking
- Is Cord Blood Banking Worth It?
- Cord blood banking guide · Glossary
Sources
- BMJ Group: Companies may be misleading parents with ‘outrageous claims’ about banking baby teeth (Aug 2025)
- PET (Progress Educational Trust): Baby teeth stem cell banking advertisements ‘misleading’
- Regenerative potential of dental pulp stem cells: systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies (BMC Oral Health, 2026)
- FDA: Important patient and consumer information about regenerative medicine therapies
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 771: Umbilical cord blood banking (2019)
- ISSCR Guide to Stem Cell Treatments
Last reviewed October 2026. For general information only — not medical advice. We do not endorse any clinic or product. Always consult a qualified, licensed healthcare professional. See our medical disclaimer and editorial policy.