Dental Did You Know

The History of the Tooth Fairy and Other Tooth Loss Rituals

While the tooth fairy is usually categorized with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and other mythological children's figures, she may not have been around as long as most of us think.  

Cultures around the world have had rituals surrounding what to do when a child looses a tooth but it wasn't until the early 1900's that the tooth fairy was introduced into those rituals.  Previous rituals included:

• Burying the tooth
• Hiding the tooth where animals cannot get it
• Placing it in a mouse hole near a hearth as an offering
• Throwing the tooth into the sun
• Throwing the tooth into a fire
• Throwing the tooth over a house or other building
• Throwing the tooth between the legs
• Placing the tooth in a tree or on a wall

The predominant ritual for when a child looses a tooth was and still is to leave it where a rat or mouse can get to it in hopes of getting money or a treat in exchange for the tooth.  The mouse/rat was chosen due to its powerful teeth and cultures believed giving the baby tooth as an offering to the mouse would ensure the child's adult tooth would be as strong and resilient as the mouse's. 

During the early 1900's, the mouse ritual was combined with the more recent idea of the "good fairy" in Western Europe and the United States.  Researchers believe the fairy replaced the mouse as a way of easing the child through the first scary transition.  While adults may not see losing a tooth as a scary experience, it is arguably the first large rite of passage in a person's life which may be seen as traumatic. 

The tooth fairy may be relatively new to the realm of children's mythological creatures but she has received a warm welcome.  Some researchers record 97% of parents having positive or neutral feelings towards the tooth fairy.

Source: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/09/dont_tell_the_kids_the_real_history_of_the_tooth_fairy/

R. Eric Emery, DDS
Morgan A. Emery, DDS
Smile Station Dental

2901 Dougherty Ferry Rd, Suite 400

St. Louis, MO 63122

(314)821-7100

smilestationdental.com

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