Storage medium for deciduous teeth ; Pulpal tissue ; Cell viability ; Milk ; Saline
Abstract
If it is possible to preserve and culture cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth in a readily available storage medium within each family, more stem cells would be obtained. This research is about the effect of storage media and time on pulpal cell viability of exfoliated deciduous teeth. 330 exfoliated deciduous teeth were randomly divided into 11 groups; fresh group, dry group, groups stored in cell culture medium (2, 4, 7 days each), in milk (2, 4, 7 days each), and in saline (2, 4, 7 days each). Primary culture of pulpal cells was conducted in each group and the success rates were compared by calculating the number of teeth with viable cells. The result of primary culture shows that the success rate decreases as the time of storage gets longer. There was no statistical difference between groups stored in the cell culture medium, milk, and saline for 2 and 4 days. However, the groups stored in milk and saline for 7 days showed dramatic decrease in success rate compared to the group stored in the cell culture medium. In conclusion, exfoliated or extracted deciduous teeth can be used to culture pulpal cells when they are stored in milk and saline for a certain period of time; however obtaining viable pulpal cells becomes harder as the storage time gets longer.