As children, most of us hear about a magical creature called the Tooth Fairy. Like many other wonderful childhood favorites such as Santa and the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy is a special fairy who brings us goodies when we pass a milestone, in this case, the loss of one of our baby teeth.
So how did this fairy tale begin?
Ancient Traditions
Back in ancient times, many Europeans followed a special tradition of burying their children’s baby teeth. When six of the child’s teeth had fallen out, the child would receive a small present and some money placed under the pillow, along with a sachet of the teeth.
This tradition was a way of marking a milestone in the child’s life – in this case, the fact that because new adult teeth would soon come in, the child was beginning to grow up – an important event to celebrate.
In Northern Europe, another tradition was a little more serious and somewhat less whimsical –depending on which country the child lived in, what the family’s economic status was, and the standard ‘going rate’ of the day for losing a baby tooth, a certain amount of money would be left under the child’s pillow for each tooth lost.
One of the more interesting traditions was for the Vikings – of course after rewarding the child for losing their baby teeth, the teeth where then worn around the Viking’s necks as good luck symbols to keep them save and victorious during battle.
Ancient Superstitions
Not all traditions about the loss of baby teeth are whimsical and fun. In fact, in England, people were highly superstitious about the loss of baby teeth, and believed that they needed to be burned, otherwise the child was destined to suffer endless hardships during the afterlife. In one version of this story, if the teeth weren’t burned, the child would spend eternity searching for them. And in yet another version, if the teeth weren’t burned, witches could use them to gain power over the child! Scary, let’s get back to the happy traditions shall we?
The Tooth Fairy in the 20th Century
At some point early in the 1900s, a new version of the Tooth Fairy was born when a children’s play called The Tooth Fairy was written about her. From there, she took on a life of her own as a magical beautiful fairy who would visit children in the night, leaving rewards for lost teeth under the child’s pillow. Many other plays and books began to be written, and television cartoons often portrayed her.
Prior to this ‘transformation’, some traditions portrayed the loss of a tooth as something negative. As well, regardless of myths and magic, for a young child, losing a tooth is a potentially scary experience.
So the idea of the Tooth Fairy was created to help ease the child through their first tooth loss as a way to turn it into something positive and much less scary.
These days, when it becomes obvious that a child’s tooth is getting ready to fall out (wobbly wiggly teeth oh my!), parents will begin to explain the process to their children, including the fact that the Tooth Fairy will bring a reward for the child if the tooth is placed under a pillow.
For some parents, the loss of their child’s first tooth is an even bigger deal to them than it is to the child! Some moms will make the event a really big deal by dressing up as the Tooth Fairy in a beautiful dress and winks, sprinkling glitter and ‘fairy dust’ around the child’s room leading to the door or window, a trail left by the Tooth Fairy during her visit. Along with a little gift or money, the Tooth Fairy might even leave a note for the child, congratulating them on this wonderful event in their life.
The bottom line is – any new experience for a young child can be scary and traumatic. The idea of the Tooth Fairy is to celebrate a regular part of growing up, and to reduce the child’s fear about it, and replace the fear with excitement and whimsy. After all, more teeth will eventually fall out – and after the first experience with the Tooth Fairy, most kids will actually look forward to the next.
Is the Tooth Fairy the Same in Every Culture?
While the premise of the Tooth Fairy is somewhat the same, there are slight differences amongst different cultures. Here are a few examples:
France
The Tooth Fairy, known as ‘La Petite Souris’, will leave small toys and gifts under the child’s pillow when a tooth falls out.
Spain
The Tooth Fairy is known as ‘Raton Perez’ – a special fairy mouse who leaves coins under the child’s pillow.
And in other countries and cultures, there are traditions that don’t always include the Tooth Fairy, but rather special rituals like throwing the teeth up into the sky. In some countries, feeding the teeth to an animal is supposed to bring good luck!
Dentistry and the Tooth Fairy
At Enhance Dental Centre, our pediatric dentists understand how scary it can be for a young child to visit us, so at our clinic, the Tooth Fairy is alive and well. Ensuring children have a fun and positive experience at our clinic lays the groundwork for a lifetime of general dentistry care. After all, if a child is taught early on in life that dental health and hygiene are an important part of life, it will become routine for them to continue to see us throughout their lives. If keeping a wonderful fairy tale alive helps in doing so, we are all for it!
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