HOUSTON -- Watch out tooth fairy, you may have some competition.

A new technology is available in Houston that will allow parents to save a baby tooth from their child for its stem cells.

A company called Stem Save will preserve the tooth in a way that will keep the stem cells alive for future use.

And some people are already lining up for the procedure.

Four-year-old Gabby wasn’t so sure what she was doing at the dentist, but her mom Graciela Aguirre was.

“Knowing that we have 3 kids, it is exciting to know I can do something for them,” Aguirre said.

Believe it or not, her baby teeth could one day save her life.

Gabby’s mom wants a tooth from each of her children preserved for their stem cells.

“Why do it? Why not?  We put their teeth in boxes put them away. Why not do something that can help them out if they do get sick? We can have something to help them,” she said.

Some experts call it insurance against the uncertainty of the future. And already stem cell research is being done that could eventually treat conditions like diabetes, heart disease, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, parkinson’s, brain injures and more. 

“It would be baby teeth from canine to canine,” Dr. Wendy Farrell from GMS Dental Centers said.

All you have to do is bring your child to the dentist when a front tooth is loose.

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“They have to be extracted.  Once they have fallen out or are hanging by a thread, they’re not viable teeth,” Dr. Farrell said.

Then it’s shipped by thermos to Stem Save Co.

GMS Dental Centers is one of the only offices in Houston that offer this opportunity, but they don’t have a big supply of the thermos on hand. So you have to go to the Web site to order this before your appointment.

Meanwhile Gabby is relieved the dentist didn’t pull any of her teeth today. 

“We’ll just make appointments once they are loose,” her mother said.

An appointment to save a baby tooth that could save her life in the future.