Page 5 - Bulletin Vol 29 No 2 - May. - Aug. 2024 FINAL

Message from the Editor

As the Bulletin looks for a new Editor, this page will feature some favorites from
past issues. The following editorial first appeared in The Bulletin in 2012.

Ted Williams’ Head and the Dental Pulp

In 2002 Ted Williams died. Williams was one of the greatest baseball players of
all time, and although his time was considerably before my time, his heir’s
unique desire to cheat time, led them to be the first of their time to think one
could live in a future time. His will stated he wished to be cremated and his
ashes spread over the Florida Keys, however, in a celebrated court battle his

children waged war with each other concerning his true wishes. They clashed over cremating or cryogeni-
cally freezing their dad.

Ted’s son John Henry and daughter Claudia claimed Ted was a man of science and truly believed cryogenics
could bring them together at a later date. His eldest daughter Bobby-Jo Farell thought otherwise and

fought for a dignified cremation. The late-night comedians, the main street media and just about everyone
else enjoyed a laugh over the Williams family feud. John Henry and Claudia prevailed, a company named
“Alcor” froze Ted Williams, and the truly amusing part of the story surfaced when it was rumored that
Ted’s head was damaged during the process. Would he thaw well? Would he be the same Ted? What
about the head? Clearly the comedians had a field day with the possibilities. In 2002 cryogenics, in its in-
fancy, was fodder for comedy, in 2012 science has changed all that.

This brings me now to the dental pulp. I recently attended a continuing education course on stem cell

research and the science of cryogenics was thrust into my small dental office existence. Suddenly, as it
affects my younger patients, I was presented with my own Ted Williams scenario. Dental pulp is a good
source of stem cells and although embryonic stem cells are still the gold standard, pulpal tissue can be used
to harvest human stem cells. Most importantly, these cells are obtained without the moral implications
surrounding the use of embryonic cells, and autogenous stem cells are most desired since they eliminate
the need for anti-rejection medications which often complicate tissue or organ transplantation. Parents

are now able to contract with a cryogenic company to harvest and preserve viable stem cells from extract-
ed teeth and offer the possibility of using such cells in the future. StemSave provides an easy-to-use kit
for the transfer of extracted teeth to their facility where stem cells can be harvested and cryogenically
preserved. According to StemSave pulpal adult stem cells, ideally collected when the patient and their
cells are young, are the best to preserve. Teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons are no longer truly

sacrificed; they may one day aid in a medical advancement to save that individual’s life.
I spoke with Dr. Tatyana Michurina, a cellular expert at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring

Harbor. Dr. Michurina reports, “Now is an exceptionally exciting time to be working on stem cell research
Continued on page 30

Nassau County Dental Society ⬧ (516) 227-1112 | 5