GMS Dental Centers of Excellence & StemSave Offer Houstonians the Promise of Stem...

GMS Dental Centers of Excellence & StemSave Offer Houstonians the Promise of Stem Cells

Stem Cells from baby teeth and wisdom teeth are a
non-controversial source of powerful stem cells
HOUSTON & PHOENIX--(Business Wire)--
Today a leading Houston dental practice management company
announced that it will begin offering patients the opportunity to
secure and store stem cells contained in teeth through its affiliated
GMS Dental Centers of Excellence. After studying National Institutes
of Health research that discovered potent stem cells in teeth and
after reviewing hundreds of follow-up studies at universities around
the world, all five GMS Dental Centers of Excellence in the Greater
Houston area are now offering stem cell storage to patients.
Partnering with StemSave(TM), Inc., a provider of convenient and
affordable stem cell cryopreservation, GMS affiliated dental centers
will enable their patients in the Houston area to benefit from
emerging advances in personalized and regenerative medical treatments.
Medical research shows potential for a patient's own stem cells to be
made into treatments for a wide range of diseases, including
Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis
and multiple sclerosis.

"Dentists are continually studying new developments in dental and
medical care that may benefit our patients and their families," said
Tim Farrell, DDS, a dentist at GMS' North Loop Office in Houston. "I
love telling my patients that we are offering the opportunity to
benefit from the promise of non-embryonic stem cell medical advances
by saving their own stem cells today. Some are surprised to hear that
dentists play such an important role in providing access to future
medical treatments."

Adult stem cells are found in everyone from the newborn to the
elderly. They are stored in reservoirs around our bodies and they
drive our natural healing processes. Adult stem cells are early-stage,
non-specific cells with the unique ability to replicate and grow into
a wide range of specific cells - bone, muscle, or organ tissue - when
we are sick or injured. Adult stem cells were first identified in the
1960s and, after 40 years of medical research on adult stem cells,
scientists are learning more about harnessing the power of and
directing the growth of these stem cells to benefit patients. Today,
dozens of new medical treatments derived from adult stem cells are
being tested in clinical trials with human volunteers.

"StemSave is a unique collaboration between top stem cell
researchers and the dental community to develop a safe, affordable,
and simple way for patients - young and old - to collect and preserve
their stem cells for a lifetime," said StemSave's President, Dr.
Gregory Chotkowski. "Most people are already aware of the benefits of
saving highly-valued cells today for future use; they've been doing so
for years with eggs, sperm, and umbilical cord blood. Now, after the
discovery of powerful stem cells in teeth, StemSave offers families
the opportunity to benefit from their own stem cells with new medical
treatments as they become available."

"After reviewing several options for collecting our patients' stem
cells, we quickly concluded that StemSave offers the greatest
protection, reliability, convenience, and involvement of stem cell
researchers, all elements that are important to GMS Dental and its
affiliated dental centers," said Grant Sadler, CEO of GMS Dental. "We
studied the research on dental stem cells and felt a sense of urgency
to offer our patients an affordable and convenient way to store their
families' stem cells. For over 20 years, GMS affiliated dental centers
continue to offer the latest advances in dental care, and now, by
offering StemSave, we help ensure our patients can participate in the
latest advances in health care."

Sadler continued, "With the recent announcement that the
Department of Defense will spearhead a $250 million national effort to
rapidly apply and fast track the latest techniques in tissue
engineering and regenerative medicine to the treatment of injury and
trauma to members of our Armed forces wounded in action, we feel that
new medical technologies using stem cells developed by the DOD will
translate rapidly to the civilian population making broad based stem
cell therapies a reality in the very near future."

Dr. Michael Fuentes, an oral surgeon added, "While our dentists at
GMS affiliated dental centers are thrilled to offer our patients the
opportunity to store their stem cells, we are also inspired by the
motivation of StemSave's founder and President, Dr. Greg Chotkowski
who is also an oral surgeon. Dr. Chotkowski's son suffers from
Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that may be treatable with stem cells in
the years ahead. As a parent whose child is suffering from a
debilitating disease, Dr. Chotkowski wants to provide every family
with the option of convenient and affordable access to new stem
cell-derived medical treatments in the years ahead."

About GMS Dental Centers of Excellence

Providing dental care to patients in Houston since 1985, GMS
Dental manages five Dental Centers of Excellence. For the complete
treatment and convenience of patients and their families, GMS
affiliated dental centers offer all aspects of general dentistry:
preventive, restorative, crown and bridge, and all dental specialties,
including Orthodontics (straightening teeth), Periodontics (gum
treatment), Endodontics (root canal treatment), Oral Surgery and
Implants with extended hours, reasonable fees and financing options
for those patients that desire it. Visit us at www.gmsdent.com

About StemSave, Inc.

StemSave, Inc. is a collaborative effort between top stem cell
researchers and the dental health community to provide families with
the opportunity to collect and preserve the powerful and valuable stem
cells that are contained within baby teeth, wisdom teeth, permanent
teeth and other oral tissues. StemSave is uniquely designed to be
affordable and accessible to patients and their families. Patients
register online at www.StemSave.com, stem cells are then collected by
their dentist during many routine dental procedures, and the dental
office ships the patient's stem cells to StemSave lab where the cells
are carefully processed and tested for viability before they are
cryopreserved. For more information on StemSave and the latest
developments in dental stem cell research, please visit
www.StemSave.com.

Release Summary:

Houston dentists at GMS Dental partner with StemSave to secure and
store patient stem cells from teeth; easily accessible adult stem
cells that demonstrate the power to become many types of cells.

KEYWORDS: adult stem cells, benefits of stem cell research,
dental, gms dental, personalized medicine, regenerative medicine, stem
cell research, stem cells, stem cells research, stemsave, types of
stem cells, what are stem cells, what is stem cell research

Cadence Communications
Mary Ellen Bos, 713-703-7481
mebos@cadencepr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008