Love her or hate her, if you have kids, the tooth fairy is likely a part of your life.

Your six year old comes running up to you one morning, over the moon excited because she has a wiggly tooth. “That means the tooth fairy will come!” and you sigh because you know that this is only the beginning. A quick survey of your friends reveals ‘prices for teeth’ at anywhere from $2 to as much as $10, though usually the high amount is only for the first tooth: the tooth fairy works on a sliding scale! Your best bet is to arm yourself with some toonies and loonies to get through this period in your child’s life.

 

Where Did the Idea of the Tooth Fairy Come From?

According to researcher Michael Hingston: “the Tooth Fairy is a wholly American creation, an amalgamation of the traditions other cultures, blended together and sparked up with a bit of Disney magic.”

 

The Tooth Fairy Around the World

Cultures around the world have their own ways of dealing with the loss of children’s teeth and almost all are related to a mouse or a rat:

• In France, as early as the seventeenth century, it was documented that teeth left out for ‘La Petite Souris’ (the little mouse) would be taken away and a gift left in its place.
• In Spain and other spanish speaking nations, the rat that took the teeth was called Ratóncito Pérez.

“Perhaps the most widely practiced ritual, one that has been documented everywhere from Russia to New Zealand to Mexico, involves offering the lost tooth as a sacrifice to a mouse or rat, in the hopes that the child’s adult teeth will grow in as strong and sturdy as the rodent’s — a wish for transference that anthropologists call “sympathetic magic.”

Add a little Disney effect and North America began entrenching the idea of a ‘Tooth Fairy’ in the late 1920’s.

 

So What’s the Point of the Tooth Fairy?

While it sounds like a cash grab for kids, the tooth fairy is useful in that she provides comfort and a positive result for children during a time that might otherwise be scary for them. This is particularly true for children who start losing their baby teeth relatively early on – age 4 or earlier. It can be difficult to explain to a child what is happening to them and the Tooth Fairy makes the whole process a little more relatable to impressionable and imaginative minds!

 

Make regular visits to your family dentist a part of your children’s oral health plan. Orion Dental specializes in children’s dentistry, and with offices conveniently located in Milton and Scarborough, we’re never too far away! Call us today to book an appointment for you and your family!