Provia Laboratories, LLC recently expanded its Store-A-Tooth™ offering to dental professionals by making it easier for dentists to provide patients the opportunity to preserve their family’s stem cells.

Specifically, the company’s Store-A-Tooth service enables families to save their own adult stem cells – from baby teeth ready to fall out; teeth pulled for orthodontic reasons, and extracted wisdom teeth.

Dental professionals play a role in making patients aware of the dental stem cell banking option, giving families the choice to safely and securely store their stem cells today – in a convenient and affordable way – so that they can take advantage of future therapies in regenerative medicine and dentistry, including those being studied for type 1 diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease, to name a few.

"We have made dental stem cell banking more accessible for consumers by offering multiple options for financing, prepayment and family plans," said Provia Labs CEO Howard Greenman. "Our intent is to become true partners with the dental community in educating the public about the potential of dental stem cells and in providing a viable option to interested consumers. We realized that the best way to forge this partnership was to eliminate any extra steps for the dentist."

Provia Labs provides authorized Store-A-Tooth dental professionals with a turnkey program to launch the service in their practices – dedicated phone support plus free patient education, practice building tools, CE and training for the team – all available for free via an easy-to-access online provider portal. “We want to ensure that our authorized providers can help their patients make an informed decision for their families,” said Greenman.

The company is also developing a new Stem Cell Educator program designed for hygienists and other team members, recognizing their crucial role in talking to patients about dental stem cells. In addition, for clinicians who access the course through the Store-A-Tooth website, the company offers 2 free CE credits for its recently published CE course, Dental Stem Cells: A Guide for the Dental Professional.

Participating dental teams and their families receive professional courtesy pricing on tooth processing, as well as an optional consideration per case for in-office tooth collection. “The most credible recommendations come from those who actually use a product or service,” explained Greenman. “We’re making it easy for dental professionals to experience and advocate the Store-A-Tooth Service.” Provia Labs partners with dental offices to make it easy to educate and inform patients about the option to preserve their family’s dental stem cells. For those interested in the service, Provia works with the dental team to provide high-quality tooth collection and arranges for the sample to be sent overnight to the lab, where the stem cells are harvested, tested, and cryopreserved for future potential use.

The Store-A-Tooth service is currently available to dental offices throughout the United States and internationally.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

Boston MA (January 31, 2012)

Store-A-Tooth™, a service of Provia Laboratories LLC, participated in last week's 2012 Yankee Dental Congress in Boston. Dentists from across New England enrolled with Store-A-Tooth to offer the leading dental stem cell banking service to their patients, enabling families to preserve their own stem cells for future therapies in regenerative medicine and dentistry.

"One of the biggest advances in adult stem cell technology is the discovery of stem cells in dental pulp tissue by NIH researchers in 2000. Dental stem cells have the ability to differentiate into various cell types, such as osteoblasts, odontoblasts, adipocytes, neuronal, and cardiac cells. Stem cell based therapies are currently being studied around the world to treat multiple degenerative diseases. Awareness is rapidly building about this research and their potential to someday be used for a range of clinical applications." says Dr. Nicholas Perrotta, DMD, a Store-A-Tooth provider who has been offering dental stem cell preservation services at his practice in Medford, MA for over five years.

Dental stem cells have the potential to be used in both dental and medical applications, and have already been used to regenerate alveolar jaw bone and to treat periodontal disease in human studies. Dental stem cells are being studied by scientists around the world to see how they could someday play a role in treating conditions such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, stroke, heart attack and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In fact, new research has shown that dental stem cells can be transformed into islet-like cell aggregates which produce insulin in a glucose-dependent manner—a significant step toward eventually developing stem-cell therapies for type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.

Dr. Brian M. Smith, head of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Cooper University Hospital with a practice in Sewell, NJ sees the potential for dental stem cells to bring innovation to the dental profession as well as new care options for patients. "I believe dental stem cell research could result in a broad range of medical and dental benefits, as discoveries in the laboratory lead to new therapies in everyday practice, making regenerative dentistry and medicine a standard of care. Our job as dental professionals is to help make this vision a reality."

Provia Laboratories partners with dental practices to offer Store-A-Tooth to patients. The free program makes it easy for dental professionals to inform patients about dental stem cell preservation and includes patient education, training, free CE, professional discounts and instructions for tooth collection. Stem cells may be harvested from dental pulp from any healthy tooth: baby teeth, extracted molars/wisdom teeth, and teeth pulled for orthodontia.

During Yankee Dental, Provia announced a new Store-A-Tooth Territory Manager for New England – Terry Tesak. Based in Massachusetts, Terry brings 12 years of experience working with dental professionals to bring innovation to leading dental practices. Terry was part of the team at Align Technology Inc., the makers of Invisalign, and has also worked for Patterson Dental Supply and Dentsply.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

Orlando FL (July 08, 2011)

The Tooth Fairy is no longer the only one laying claim to the tens of millions of baby teeth and wisdom teeth discarded each year. Upon learning that potent, potentially life-saving stem cells exist in the dental pulp of their child's teeth, parents like Georgia Spiropoulos of Puget Sound, WA are increasingly banking these precious cells with companies like Store-A-Tooth in hope that one day advancing science will unlock treatments to such prevalent conditions as diabetes, spinal cord injury, stroke and even neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

For Georgia, a recent study in the Journal of Dental Research indicating stem cells from teeth may someday produce a cure for diabetes offers renewed promise for her 15-year-old daughter Alexa Brenner. Alexa is among the nearly one million Americans afflicted with type 1 or juvenile diabetes, with more than 15,000 children and teenagers newly diagnosed each year. Mother and daughter will be attending the annual Children with Diabetes Friends for Life conference this week in Orlando, FL.

"When I learned of the research being done around dental stem cells particularly in the area of diabetes, I was filled with hope for my daughter," says Georgia Spiropoulos, also a member of the Board of Directors of the Northwest Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and a speaker at the Children with Diabetes conference. "As any parent of a child suffering from a chronic disease knows, hope sometimes comes from the most unlikely places, so it is important that we remain open to exploring promising, new discoveries like dental stem cells."

Could a Tooth Cure Diabetes?

Intensive research is underway worldwide to develop practical medical and dental applications using dental stem cells. The study in the Journal of Dental Research indicated that the stem cells found in teeth can create islet-like cells which produce insulin in response to varying levels of glucose – early research suggesting that in the not-too-distant future, dental stem cells might be used for growing new islet cells, a significant step toward developing stem cell therapies for diabetes.

The finding is particularly important for Alexa's disease, type 1 diabetes, which results from a failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin, the hormone that plays a vital role in the body's use of glucose (blood sugar). Research continues to determine whether insulin-producing cells derived from dental stem cells might one day be used as part of a cure for type 1 diabetes.

"We were so hopeful 14 years ago when we first learned of Alexa's diagnosis that a cure would be found within ten years," says Georgia. "Dental stems cells offer our family a new direction to pursue and a renewed hope that a cure for diabetes is within reach."

Banking Dental Stem Cells: Plentiful, Convenient, Affordable and Non-Controversial

For Georgia, like so many parents who did not bank their child's cord blood, banking Alexa's wisdom teeth offers a second chance to retrieve stem cells from a non-invasive, affordable, non-controversial source. Unlike bone marrow, dental stem cells are easy to collect and can be obtained at various times during youth, whereas cord blood stem cells are only available at birth. Moreover, dental stem cells are not subject to any ethical concerns and can be banked for one third to one half the cost of umbilical cord blood.

"My husband and I easily spend hundreds of dollars each year supporting Alexa's athletic and academic pursuits," says Georgia. "How could I not make a similar investment in safeguarding my daughter's future health, particularly when banking the stem cells from her teeth was so easy?"

Store-A-Tooth™, A High Quality Biobanking Provider is Key to Successful Preservation

Parents who are interested in banking their child's dental stem cells should carefully evaluate the quality of a banking provider before entrusting them with their child's precious cells. Selecting a high quality provider like Store-A-Tooth, the leading biobanking firm that processed and stored Alexa's teeth, ensures cells are successfully collected, stored safely and securely, and are available in the best possible condition if and when they are needed.

"Store-A-Tooth's commitment to educating parents on the current science and adhering to the highest quality standards when collecting and preserving dental stem cells was incredibly reassuring," attests Georgia. "The Store-A-Tooth team was involved every step of the way, and expressed such care and concern for our family."

A few things parents should look for when evaluating providers of dental stem cell banking include the collection process, transportation method, processing method, quality control, and lab accreditations. To learn more about how Store-A-Tooth invests in quality throughout its process or for more information on current research and news on dental stem cells, please visit http://www.store-a-tooth.com or call 1-877-867-5753. Store-A-Tooth will again be exhibiting at the Children with Diabetes Friends for Life conference this week in Orlando, and later this month in Toronto.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

¹The Store-A-Tooth facility is registered by the US Food and Drug Administration and compliant with FDA guidelines pertinent to human cells and tissue products; certified under CLIA (the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments); licensed by the state health departments of New York, Massachusetts, and California; and accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).

(April 27, 2011) Provia Laboratories, LLC announced today that it has formed a working group to advise the company on how to promote industry standards in the preservation of stem cells from teeth. The announcement came at the start of the First International Conference on Dental and Craniofacial Stem Cells. The conference is being held April 27-29 in New York City at the New York Academy of Sciences, hosted by Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine.

Provia Labs provides biobanking expertise and products and services for biospecimen research. In addition, Provia Labs offers dental stem cell banking through its Store-A-Tooth brand in the U.S. and has partnered with companies in India and several Latin American countries to provide dental stem cell preservation internationally.

"Research into dental stem cells is now a global enterprise," said Peter Verlander, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Provia Labs. "We believe this research will result in broad medical and dental benefits as discoveries in the laboratory lead to new therapies in everyday practice, making regenerative dentistry and medicine a standard of care."

"As this potential becomes more apparent, we expect that many families will want to bank their children's dental stem cells—cells that become available when baby teeth fall out or wisdom teeth are extracted. So the time is now to make sure that all facilities entrusted with preserving dental stem cell samples are operating at industry-recognized standards."

The Quality Advisory Group will guide Provia Labs on drafting guidelines for the collection, transport, processing and storage of dental stem cells, including appropriate quality-control metrics to help ensure industry-wide uniformity in the viability and utility of these cells. The working group will also advise Provia Labs on how best to seek industry acceptance and adoption of the proposed standards.

The initial members of the working group are:
-- Joseph C. Laning, Ph.D. Dr. Laning is the senior director of the Human Stem Cell Bank and Registry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He came to the medical school from ViaCell Inc., a biotechnology company focused on researching and developing adult stem cells to treat cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. He has also held research positions at Amaranth Bio Inc. and Organogenesis. Dr. Laning earned his Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University.

-- Paul T. Sharpe, Ph.D. Dr. Sharpe is the Dickinson Professor of Craniofacial Biology and the director of research at the Dental Institute, King's College London. His research interests include molecular control of craniofacial hard-tissue morphogenesis, dental stem cells, and stem-cell-based tissue engineering of teeth and bone. He and his colleagues received the 2006 William J. Gies Award for best paper published in the Journal of Dental Research during the preceding year in the category of biomaterials and bioengineering. He holds a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Sheffield University.

-- Peter C. Verlander, Ph.D. Dr. Verlander is a molecular geneticist with nearly 15 years of experience in human-genetics research in both academia and industry. Prior to joining Provia Labs, he was the associate director for Strategic Development at the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine within the Harvard Medical School - Partners Healthcare Center for Genetics and Genomics. He led the team that developed the first clinical test for detection of EGFR mutations predicting therapeutic response in lung adenocarcinoma. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Duke University.

-- Mervin Yoder, M.D. Dr. Yoder is the Richard and Pauline Klingler Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he received his M.D. degree. He completed a residency program in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and he is the co-author of a textbook on the care of critically ill newborns. His research interests have focused on the temporal and spatial emergence of hematopoietic and endothelial cells in the mouse embryo. His laboratory has helped to define endothelial progenitor cells in human subjects. He is past President of the ISEH Society for Hematology and Stem Cells.

Dr. Verlander commented, "We believe the quality of our Store-A-Tooth service is unsurpassed with respect to the methods we use to ensure proper collection, transport, processing and storage of dental stem cells.¹ Provia's mission is to offer the highest quality repository for our clients – safeguarding the stem cells from their family's teeth for potential use in the future. We nonetheless recognize that technology is always evolving, and we intend to stay at the forefront in dental stem cell preservation. We are also hopeful that the counsel of this working group will prove useful to others who endeavor to realize the potential of dental stem cells for regenerative medicine and dentistry."

In 2000, researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health demonstrated that teeth are a source of stem cells, with the potential to differentiate into various specialized cell types. Stem cells from teeth have already been used in human studies to regrow jawbone and treat periodontal disease. Research into wide-ranging medical applications is early, but promising. Dental stem cells are being studied for their potential in therapies for type 1 diabetes, spinal-cord injury, heart attack and stroke, corneal damage, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Often the donors of dental stem cells are children and teenagers, since it is an easy process to collect samples when a baby tooth is ready to fall out or a wisdom tooth needs to be extracted. The tooth should be taken out by a dental professional to keep its blood supply intact. After removing the tooth, the dentist or oral surgeon places it into a kit designed to protect the tooth during overnight transport to the cell-preservation facility. There the sample is decontaminated and tested to confirm its sterility, and the dental pulp is harvested. Quality control tests such as flow cytometry are performed to confirm that stem cell biomarkers are present in the samples. The samples are then stored at extremely low temperatures for the potential benefit of donors in future years as stem-cell therapies become more readily available.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

¹The Store-A-Tooth facility is registered by the US Food and Drug Administration and compliant with FDA guidelines pertinent to human cells and tissue products; certified under CLIA (the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments); licensed by the state health departments of New York, Massachusetts, and California; and accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).

(April 19, 2011) Scientists from around the world will gather in New York City next week to share their progress in researching the therapeutic potential of stem cells from teeth.

The First International Conference on Dental and Craniofacial Stem Cells will take place April 27-29. Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine will host the conference at the New York Academy of Sciences. This will be the first assembly of the world's most prominent researchers in the field of dental and craniofacial stem cells. Hundreds of scientists from academia, industry and government are expected to participate.

"A sure sign of expansion and excitement in a scientific field is an initial conference on this scale," said Peter Verlander, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Provia Laboratories, LLC. "Columbia University is helping to catalyze dental stem cell research by convening leading investigators whose work could transform therapies in both regenerative dentistry and medicine."

Provia Labs provides biobanking products and solutions, as well as advisory services and expertise on biospecimen research. In addition, the company offers Store-A-Tooth™, a service that enables families and dental professionals to collect and preserve dental stem cells for future use, as laboratory research leads to stem cell therapies for clinical practice.

Among the scientists presenting at the conference at the invitation of Columbia University will be Paul T. Sharpe, Ph.D., an advisor to Provia Labs. Dr. Sharpe is the Dickinson Professor of Craniofacial Biology and the Director of Research at the Dental Institute, King's College London.

Provia Labs will be an exhibitor at the conference. Company representatives will be available to discuss both the Store-A-Tooth service and the company's other biobanking products and solutions.

In 2000, researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health demonstrated that teeth are a source of stem cells, with the potential to differentiate into various specialized cell types. Stem cells from teeth have already been used in human studies to regrow jawbone and treat periodontal disease. Research into wide-ranging medical applications is early, but promising. Dental stem cells are being studied for their potential to play a role in therapies for type 1 diabetes, spinal-cord injury, heart attack and stroke, corneal damage, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Researchers at the conference will be presenting a range of topics to advance knowledge about the biology, function, and eventual clinical application of dental stem cells. What makes the field exciting for both scientists and dentists, as well as the general public, is that stem cells from teeth are an appealing and plentiful source of adult stem cells – they are non-controversial, readily accessible, and can be easily collected during routine dental procedures.

Often the donors of dental stem cells are children and teenagers, since it is an easy process to collect samples when a baby tooth is ready to fall out or a wisdom tooth needs to be extracted. The tooth should be taken out by a dental professional to keep its blood supply intact. After removing the tooth, the dentist or oral surgeon places it into a kit designed to protect the tooth during overnight transport to the cell-preservation facility. There the sample is decontaminated and tested to confirm its sterility, and the dental pulp is harvested. Quality control tests such as flow cytometry are performed to confirm that stem cell biomarkers are present in the samples. The samples are then stored at extremely low temperatures for the potential benefit of donors in future years as stem-cell therapies become more readily available.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.

Lexington, MA (March 16, 2011) – Amid the scientific enthusiasm and occasional political controversy over stem cells, Paul Krasner is calling for leadership from what might at first seem a profession detached from the issue: dentistry.

"It's up to us as dentists to develop this field," says Dr. Krasner, D.D.S., a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics, a professor of clinical endodontics at Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, PA and a founding advisor of Store-A-Tooth.

What brings dentists and oral surgeons into the field is a discovery made at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2000 yet often obscured by other stem cell news: The discovery that teeth can be a rich source of stem cells—especially baby teeth that come loose during childhood, wisdom teeth extracted from teens or young adults, and teeth that need to be pulled to make room for braces.

Indeed, laboratories and clinics around the world are investigating the promise of these cells in wide-ranging dental and medical applications. In human studies, stem cells from teeth have already been used to regrow jawbone and treat periodontal disease.

In a "Viewpoint" article appearing in the February 2011 issue of Dentistry Today, Dr. Krasner tells his colleagues that they will play a lead role in enabling stem-cell therapies if current research fulfills its promise. (Dr. Krasner recently co-authored a CE course about dental stem cells, published by www.dentalcetoday.com.)

With the recognition that there are valuable stem cells in teeth, he says, "the dentist may become the primary provider of cells that can be used in the future by physicians for the treatment of a variety of conditions such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, myocardial infarction, and neurological diseases like Parkinson's."

He urges dentists to support research and clinical studies, educate their staff and their patients, and promote sound policy on dental stem cell preservation. His remarks echo a 2008 policy statement on stem cells by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

In his role as an advisor, Dr. Krasner provides clinical expertise to Store-A-Tooth, a service that lets families preserve the stem cells in their children's teeth. By banking stem cells now, families can be prepared to take advantage of future advances in stem cell research. Store-A-Tooth is a service provided by Provia Laboratories, LLC.

The process is simple. The patient's family makes an appointment when a baby tooth is ready to fall out or a wisdom tooth needs to be extracted – it's recommended to have the tooth taken out by a dental professional so its blood supply is still intact. After removing the tooth, the dentist or oral surgeon places it into a kit designed to protect the tooth during overnight transport to the cell-preservation facility. There the sample is decontaminated, tested to confirm its sterility, and the dental pulp harvested from the tooth. Quality control tests such as flow cytometry are performed to confirm that stem cell biomarkers are present in the samples, which are then stored at extremely low temperatures so that the stem cells can be retrieved and used in future years.

Although only continuing research will determine which types of stem cells will best meet specific needs, stem cells from teeth clearly hold certain advantages:
-- They are easy to collect, unlike bone-marrow stem cells, which are harvested by an invasive procedure.
-- They can be obtained at various times during youth, unlike umbilical cord blood stem cells, which become available only at birth.
-- They are not subject to the ethical concerns that have been raised about embryonic stem cells.

Dr. Krasner, for his part, has made a practical contribution to preserving stem cells from teeth: He invented the tooth-transport device chosen for the Store-A-Tooth service. Called Save-A-Tooth®, it is the only device approved by the FDA and accepted by the American Dental Association to preserve knocked-out teeth following injury. It has been recommended as a component of every first-aid kit by both the Mayo Clinic and the NIH. Just as it protects a knocked-out tooth until the tooth can be reimplanted, it provides high-quality protection of an extracted tooth with its stem cells during transport from a dentist's office to Provia Labs' facility for long-term preservation.

And Dr. Krasner practices what he preaches. Store-a-Tooth is preserving the stem cells from his own son's wisdom teeth.

About Provia Laboratories LLC Provia Laboratories, LLC (www.provialabs.com) is a healthcare services company specializing in high quality biobanking (preservation of biological specimens). The company's Store-A-Tooth™ service platform enables the collection, transport, processing, and storage of dental stem cells for potential use in future stem-cell therapies. The company advises industrial, academic, and governmental clients on matters related to the preservation of biological specimens for research and clinical use. In addition, Provia offers a variety of products for use in complex biobanking environments to improve sample logistics, security, and quality. Provia Labs is a member of ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories.