Landmark oral health legislation signed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on Jan. 15 authorizes “public health dental hygienists,” including their ability to directly bill for services. To view the entire Chapter 530, go to: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw08/sl080530.htm

Save Your Wisdom Teeth has taken on a new meaning. For an enrollment fee of $590 + $100 and $100 per year thereafter, StemSave (www.stemsave.com) will quick freeze and save the stem cells in the pulp of 1-4 extracted teeth (wisdom and deciduous preferred) in perpetuity or as long as you live or have an annual hundred bucks to spare. The cost-benefit and benefit (regenerated kidney vs dialysis, for example) of this “potential” for regenerating degenerated parts is yet to be determined. Research stemming from this development should be of interest to all preservationists.