Can Teeth Really Help with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?

This Surprised Me Okay, I know this sounds strange, but I just learned something that completely caught me off guard: our teeth—especially wisdom teeth—might actually help fight brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

I always thought once a tooth is pulled, that’s it—toss it and move on. But apparently, inside our teeth is something called dental pulp, and it’s filled with stem cells that can actually help heal parts of the brain.

I’m not even kidding.

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What’s Inside a Tooth That Matters?

The soft part inside the tooth (the pulp) has something called mesenchymal stem cells—and they’re special because they can:

Turn into other types of cells, including neurons (yes, brain cells!)

Reduce brain inflammation

Support damaged nerve cells

And release all these helpful signals that protect the brain

In lab studies, scientists saw that these dental stem cells helped reduce the buildup of toxic proteins—like amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s and alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s. That kind of buildup is what causes a lot of the damage in these diseases.

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Could This Actually Help People?

Here’s where it gets interesting. These stem cells aren’t just sitting there—they’re being studied for real treatments. While this is still in the early stages (mostly animal and lab studies), researchers believe they could use dental pulp stem cells to:

Slow down Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s

Help regrow lost brain cells

Support dopamine-producing neurons (especially important in Parkinson’s)

We’re not there yet—but it’s very promising.

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So… Should We Keep Our Wisdom Teeth?

Honestly? After reading about all this, I kind of wish I had kept mine. We usually throw them away, but now there’s talk about banking your dental stem cells for future use. Imagine being able to use your own cells to protect or heal your brain down the line.

If you or someone you love is getting wisdom teeth pulled, maybe don’t toss them. At least look into whether they can be saved or stored. You never know what might be possible in a few years.

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Final Thought

It’s wild to think that something we usually treat as trash might be a hidden treasure. Our teeth could hold healing power—especially for diseases that still don’t have a cure.

So yeah, this blew my mind. And maybe next time someone tells you they’re getting their wisdom teeth out, you’ll be the one to say, “Wait! Save them!”

#parkinsons, #dental, #Healthy