Don't leave that tooth under the pillow – it might save your child's life: The 12-year-old pioneer who stores stem …

By Dr Neil Counihan

PUBLISHED: 16:00 EST, 6 April 2013 | UPDATED: 16:00 EST, 6 April 2013

A cheerful-looking 12-year-old boy is sitting in the dentists chair in my Kings Road clinic, grinning.

Taking out a tooth is a much less traumatic process than it used to be: a bit of anaesthetic rubbed on the gums and a quick tug. It is painless and fast. Even so, its not something you look forward to.

But this is Pierre Moullier, my nephew. He has been told that he is making medical history by allowing his tooth to be the focus of this report. And his mother my older sister Judy is in complete agreement.

Recycled: Pierre Moullier, aged 12, is holding his milk tooth which may prove a saving grace in the future

The Counihan family have undergone something of a revelation in the past eight months.

As an orthodontist working predominantly with children, I believe that should childrens milk teeth require removal for orthodontic purposes, their parents ought to be having them, or at least a part of them, stored.

The reason? Cells known as stem cells within those normally discarded bits of tissue have so many potential uses that its mind-boggling.

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Don't leave that tooth under the pillow - it might save your child's life: The 12-year-old pioneer who stores stem ...