Editing Tooth fairy

{{Short description|Childhood folkloric figure}}
{{Other uses|Tooth Fairy (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
[[File:Tooth Fairy.jpg|alt=A woman dressed as a fairy surrounded by children|thumb|A woman dressed as the Tooth Fairy during Halloween]]

The '''tooth fairy''' is a [[folkloric]] figure of [[early childhood]] in [[Western world|Western]] and Western-influenced cultures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blair |first1=John R. |last2=McKee |first2=Judy S. |last3=Jernigan |first3=Louise F. |journal=Psychological Reports |volume=46 |issue=3, Pt. 1 |date=June 1980 |title=Children's belief in Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy |pages=691–694 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1980.46.3.691|s2cid=146492076 }}</ref> The folklore states that when children lose one of their [[Deciduous teeth|baby teeth]], they should place it underneath their pillow or on their bedside table; the Tooth Fairy will visit while they sleep, replacing the lost [[Human tooth|tooth]] with a small payment.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Watts|first=Linda S.|title=Tooth Fairy (legendary) |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of American Folklore|year=2007|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8160-5699-6|pages=386|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00lind/page/386}}</ref>

==Origins==

During the [[Middle Ages]], other [[superstition]]s arose surrounding children's teeth. Children in [[England]] were instructed to burn their baby teeth, on pain of spending eternity searching for the baby teeth in the afterlife. Fear of witches was another reason to bury or burn teeth. In medieval Europe, it was thought that a witch could assume total power over someone if they were to obtain one of their teeth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Underwood |first1=Tanya |title=Legends of the Tooth Fairy |url=https://recess.ufl.edu/culture/2005/legends-of-the-tooth-fairy/ |work=Recess! Media |publisher=University of Florida |date=23 August 2005 }}</ref>

Another modern incarnation of these traditions into an actual Tooth Fairy has been traced to a 1908 "Household Hints" item in the ''[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]'':

{{blockquote|Tooth Fairy.
Many a refractory child will allow a loose tooth to be removed if he knows about the Tooth Fairy.  If he takes his little tooth and puts it under the pillow when he goes to bed the Tooth Fairy will come in the night and take it away, and in its place will leave some little gift.  It is a nice plan for mothers to visit the 5-cent counter and lay in a supply of articles to be used on such occasions.<ref>{{Cite news
|author     = Lillian Brown
|date       = 27 September 1908
|title      = Tooth Fairy
|newspaper  = [[Chicago Daily Tribune]]
|url        = https://img0.newspapers.com/img/img?id=28787156&width=557&height=437&crop=2517_1050_2254_1801&rotation=0&brightness=0&contrast=0&invert=0&ts=1460115246&h=f6a60fdd1e30737112f8cf3ca2b30c64
|access-date = 13 March 2022
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601225019im_/https://img0.newspapers.com/img/img?id=28787156&width=557&height=437&crop=2517_1050_2254_1801&rotation=0&brightness=0&contrast=0&invert=0&ts=1460115246&h=f6a60fdd1e30737112f8cf3ca2b30c64
 |archive-date=1 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>|author=Lillian Brown|title=Tooth Fairy|source=[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]}}

==Appearance==
Unlike [[Santa Claus]] and, to a lesser extent, the [[Easter Bunny]], there are few details of the Tooth Fairy's appearance that are consistent in various versions of the myth. A 1984 study conducted by [[Rosemary Wells]] revealed that most -- 74% of those surveyed -- believed the Tooth Fairy to be female, while 12% believed the Tooth Fairy to be neither male nor female, and 8% believed the Tooth Fairy could be either male or female.<ref name="Toledo Blade">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FkdSAAAAIBAJ&pg=3809,192140&dq=tooth-fairy&hl=en|title=Tooth Fairy Lore Extracted|date=2 February 1984|work=[[Toledo Blade]] |first=Lynda |last=Brooker}}</ref> When asked about her findings regarding the Tooth Fairy's appearance, Wells explained: "You've got your basic Tinkerbell-type Tooth Fairy with the wings, [[wand]], a little older and whatnot. Then you have some people who think of the tooth fairy as a man, a bunny rabbit, or a mouse."<ref name="The Milwaukee Journal">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4zcdAAAAIBAJ&pg=6626,6866738&dq=tooth-fairy&hl=en|title=The tooth fairy: friend or foe?|date=31 July 1991|work=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> One review of published children's books and popular artwork found the Tooth Fairy to be depicted in many various forms, including as a child with wings, a [[pixie]], a [[dragon]], a blue mother-figure, a flying [[ballerina]], two little older men, a dental hygienist, occasionally a female dentist, a potbellied flying man smoking a cigar, a bat, a bear, and others. Unlike the well-established imagining of Santa Claus, differences in renderings of the Tooth Fairy are not as upsetting to children.<ref name=Wells/>

===Depiction on coins and currency===
Starting in 2011, the [[Royal Canadian Mint]] began selling special sets for newborn babies, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, "O Canada", and the Tooth Fairy. The Tooth Fairy quarters, which were issued only in 2011 and 2012, were packaged separately.<ref>[http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=2012%20CANADA%20Tooth%20Fairy%20Gift%20Sett%20Special%20quarter%20reverse%20Mint%20sealed%20&_itemId=200712964004 2012 CANADA Tooth Fairy Gift Sett Special quarter reverse Mint sealed | eBay]</ref>

In 2020, the [[Royal Australian Mint]] began issuing "Tooth Fairy kits" that included commemorative $2 coins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ramint.gov.au/2021-tooth-fairy-coin-set|title = 2021 Tooth Fairy Coin Set|date = 8 January 2021}}</ref>

== Reward ==
The reward left varies by country, the family's economic status, amounts the child's peers report receiving, and other factors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patca |first1=Raphael |last2=van Waes |first2=Hubertus J. M. |last3=Daum |first3=Moritz M. |last4=Landolt |first4=Markus A. |year=2017 |title=Tooth Fairy guilty of favouritism! |url=https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/207/11/tooth-fairy-guilty-favouritism |journal=Medical Journal of Australia |volume=207 |issue=11 |pages=482–486 |doi=10.5694/mja17.00860 |pmid=29227774 |s2cid=21234624}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hedges |first1=Helen |author-link=Helen Hedges |last2=Cullen |first2=Joy |date=2003 |title=The Tooth Fairy Comes, or Is It Just Your Mum and Dad?: A Child's Construction of Knowledge |journal=Australian Journal of Early Childhood |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=19–24 |doi=10.1177/183693910302800304 |s2cid=141300988 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2013 survey by [[Visa Inc.]] found that American children receive $3.70 per tooth on average.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 August 2013 |title=Tooth Fairy inflation flies high |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tooth-fairy-inflation-flies-high/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=26 July 2011 |title=Survey: Tooth fairy leaving less money |work=UPI |url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/07/26/Survey-Tooth-fairy-leaving-less-money/44011311665400/}}</ref> According to the same survey, only 3% of children find a dollar or less and 8% find a five-dollar bill or more under their pillow.<ref>{{cite web |last=Woudstra |first=Wendy |title=How Much Does The Tooth Fairy Pay for a Tooth |url=https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/basics/tooth-fairy/how-much-does-the-tooth-fairy-pay-for-a-tooth-0213 |access-date=5 March 2019 |publisher=[[Colgate (toothpaste)|Colgate]]}}</ref>

The reward is affected by [[inflation]].<ref name="Kelly Tyko Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout 2023"/> According to data gathered by the American [[dental insurance]] company [[Delta Dental]], the average payout per tooth in the United States rose from $1.30 in 1998 to $6.23 in 2023.<ref name="Kelly Tyko Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout 2023"/> According to Delta Dental, the payout's trends typically mirror macroeconomic conditions and the [[S&P 500]] stock index.<ref name="Kelly Tyko Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout 2023">{{cite news |last1=Tyko |first1=Kelly |title=Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout reaches record high |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/02/27/tooth-fairy-day-lost-tooth-value |access-date=4 March 2023 |work=Axios |date=27 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Delta Dental found that the first tooth lost gets a higher reward than other teeth on average in the United States.<ref name="Kelly Tyko Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout 2023"/>

==Belief==
{{See also|Paternalistic deception}}
Belief in the Tooth Fairy is viewed in two very differing ways. On the one hand, children's beliefs are seen as part of the trusting nature of childhood. Conversely, belief in the Tooth Fairy is frequently used to label adults as being too trusting and ready to believe anything.<ref name=Wells>{{cite book |author-link=Rosemary Wells |last=Wells |first=Rosemary |chapter=The Making of an Icon: The Tooth Fairy in North American Folklore and Popular Culture |title=The Good People: New Fairylore Essays |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Narváez |date=1997 |pages=426–446 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=9780813109398}}</ref>

Parents tend to view the myth as providing comfort for children in losing a tooth.<ref name=Wells/> Research finds that belief in the Tooth Fairy may comfort a child experiencing fear or pain from losing a tooth.<ref name=Clark>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Cindy Dell |chapter=Flight Toward Maturity: The Tooth Fairy |title=Flights of Fancy, Leaps of Faith: Children's Myths in Contemporary America |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |date=1995 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/flightsoffancyle00clar/page/355 355–364] |isbn=9780226107776 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/flightsoffancyle00clar/page/355 }}</ref> Mothers especially seem to value a child's belief as a sign that their "baby" is still a child and is not "growing up too soon".<ref name=Wells/> By encouraging belief in a fictional character, parents allow themselves to be comforted that their child still believes in fantasy and is not yet "grown up".<ref name=Clark />

Children often discover the Tooth Fairy is imaginary as part of the age 5- to 7-year shift, often connecting this to other gift-bearing imaginary figures (such as [[Santa Claus]] and the [[Easter Bunny]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sameroff |first1=Arnold |first2=Susan C. |last2=McDonough |journal=Phi Delta Kappan |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=188–193 |date=1994 |title=Educational implications of developmental transitions: revisiting the 5- to 7-year shift |jstor=20405294}}</ref>

Author [[Vicki Lansky]] advises parents to tell their children early that the tooth fairy pays much more for a perfect tooth than a decayed one. According to Lansky, some families leave a note with the payment, praising the child for good dental habits.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lansky|first=Vicki|title=Practical parenting tips|year=2001|publisher=Unicorn books|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-7806-005-1|page=79}}</ref>

Research findings suggest a possible relationship between a child's continued belief in the Tooth Fairy (and other fictional characters) and [[false memory syndrome]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Principe |first1=Gabrielle F. |first2=Eric |last2=Smith |journal=Applied Cognitive Psychology |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=625–642 |date=July 2008 |title=The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth: How belief in the Tooth Fairy can engender false memories |doi=10.1002/acp.1402}}</ref>

==Related myths==
=== El Ratón Pérez (Spain and Latin America) ===
In [[Spain]] and [[Hispanic America]], El [[Ratoncito Pérez]] or Ratón Pérez ({{translation|literal=yes}} ''Perez the Little Mouse'' or ''Perez Mouse'') is equivalent to the Tooth Fairy. He first appeared in an 1894 tale written by [[Luis Coloma]] for King [[Alfonso XIII]], who had just lost a milk tooth at the age of eight.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/luis-coloma-y-ratoncito-perez-cuento-que-nacio-como-regalo-para-reina_14131|author=Sadurní, J. M.|title=Luis Coloma and Ratoncito Pérez, the tale that born as a gift for a Queen|magazine=[[National Geographic]]|date=7 May 2019|language=es}}</ref> As is traditional in other cultures, when a child loses a tooth it is customary for the child to place it under the pillow so that El Ratoncito Pérez will exchange it for a small payment or gift. The tradition is almost universal in Spanish cultures, with some slight differences.

He is generally known as "El Ratoncito Pérez",<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Dental Journal – Volume 220 Issue 11, 10 June 2016 |url=https://www.nature.com/bdj/volumes/220/issues/11 |access-date=30 September 2022 |website=Nature |date=10 June 2016 |language=en}}</ref> except for some regions of Mexico, Peru, and Chile, where he is called "El Ratón de los Dientes" ({{translation}} ''The Tooth Mouse''), and in Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Colombia, where he is known simply as "El Ratón Pérez". He was used by [[Colgate (toothpaste)|Colgate]] marketing in Venezuela<ref name="Producto">{{cite web |url=http://www.producto.com.ve/productor/gdental.html |website=Producto Registrado |title=Centuria Dental |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020074258/http://www.producto.com.ve/productor/gdental.html |archive-date=20 October 2010 |language=es}}</ref> and Spain.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

=== Elsewhere in Europe ===
In [[Italy]], the Tooth Fairy (''Fatina dei denti'') is also often replaced by a tiny mouse named ''Topolino''. In some areas the same role is held by [[Saint Apollonia]], known as ''Santa Polonia'' in [[Veneto]].<ref>{{cite news |title=La fatina dei denti |url=https://www.quotidianocanavese.it/lopinione/il-quotidiano-passo/la-fatina-dei-denti-23014 |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=Quotidiano del Canavese |date=22 August 2019}}</ref> (Saint Apollonia's legendary martyrdom involved having her teeth broken; she is frequently depicted artistically holding a tooth and is considered the patron saint of dentistry and those with toothache and dental problems.)

In [[France]] and French-speaking [[Belgium]], this character is called ''La Petite Souris'' (''[[The Little Mouse]]''). From parts of [[Lowland Scotland]] comes a tradition similar to the fairy mouse: a white fairy rat who purchases children's teeth with coins.

In [[Catalonia (autonomous community)|Catalonia]], the most popular would be ''[[:ca:Angelet de les dents|Els Angelets]]'' (little angels) and also "Les animetes" (little souls) and as in the other countries, the tooth is placed under the pillow in exchange of a coin or a little token.

In the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]], and especially in [[Biscay]], there is ''Mari Teilatukoa'' ("Mary from the roof"), who lives in the roof of the [[baserri]] and catches the teeth thrown by the children. In [[Cantabria]], he is known as ''L'Esquilu de los dientis'' ("the tooth [[squirrel]]").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bucal |first=Salud |date=23 September 2014 |title=La historia del Ratón de los dientes |url=https://news.yahoo.com/la-historia-del-rat%C3%B3n-de-los-dientes-162718968.html |access-date=14 November 2023 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Asia and Africa ===
In [[Japan]], a different variation calls for lost upper teeth to be thrown straight down to the ground and lower teeth straight up into the air; the idea is that incoming teeth will grow in straight.<ref>{{cite book|last=Beeler|first=Selby B.|title=Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World|year=1998|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Company]]|location=Boston|isbn=978-0-6181-5238-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/throwyourtoothon00selb/page/25 25]|url=https://archive.org/details/throwyourtoothon00selb/page/25}}</ref>

In Korea, throwing both upper and lower teeth on the roof was common.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Dental Journal – Volume 220 Issue 10, 27 May 2016 |url=https://www.nature.com/bdj/volumes/220/issues/10 |access-date=30 September 2022 |website=Nature |date=27 May 2016 |language=en}}</ref> The practice is rooted around the Korean national bird, the magpie. It is said that if the magpie finds a tooth on the roof, it will bring good luck.<ref>{{Cite web |last=eungihon |title=Magpies and Baby Teeth {{!}} USC Digital Folklore Archives |date=12 May 2016 |url=http://folklore.usc.edu/magpies-and-baby-teeth/ |access-date=30 September 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Some scholars think the myth derived from the word {{Lang|ko|까치}} (Ka-chi) which was a middle Korean word for magpies that sounds similar to "new teeth", or because of the significance of magpies in Korean mythology as a messenger between gods and humans.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In Middle Eastern countries (including [[Iraq]], [[Jordan]], [[Egypt]], and [[Sudan]]), there is a tradition of throwing a baby tooth up into the sky to the sun or to [[Allah]]. This tradition may originate in a pre-Islamic offering dating back to the 13th century. It was also mentioned by [[Izz bin Hibat Allah Al Hadid]] in the 13th century.<ref name=Hamdani>{{cite journal |last1=Al Hamdani |first1=Muwaffak |last2=Wenzel |first2=Marian |jstor=1258921 |title=The Worm in the Tooth |journal=Folklore |year=1966 |volume=77 | issue=1 |pages=60–64|doi=10.1080/0015587X.1966.9717030 }}</ref>

In [[Mali]], children throw baby teeth into the chicken coop to receive a chicken the following day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Dental Journal - Volume 220 Issue 9, 13 May 2016 |url=https://www.nature.com/bdj/volumes/220/issues/9 |access-date=30 September 2022 |website=Nature |date=13 May 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

In Afrikaans speaking families in South Africa, children leave their teeth in a shoe so that the Tandemuis (Tooth Mouse) can replace the teeth with money.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Clara |last1=Parsons |first2=Rebecca |last2=Mountain |first3=Kristina |last3=Jacobsson |first4=Felicitas |last4=Bidlack |first5=Lisa |last5=Lehmann |first6=Erin |last6=Dunn |title=Cultural diversity of traditions for the disposal of exfoliated teeth: Implications for researchers |journal=Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology |date=2024 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=139–149 |doi=10.1111/cdoe.12928 |doi-access=free |pmid=38217075 |pmc=11852604 }}</ref>

==In popular culture==
In 1927, a children's playwright, ''Esther Watkins Arnold'', brought to life an extraordinary, elf-like creature, in an 8-page playlet. She playfully christened it as the "Tooth fairy", and this mythical creature had the power to fly around visiting young children, to collect their fallen (milk) teeth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Tooth Fairy Day |url=https://sunshinesmilesdentistry.com/national-tooth-fairy-day/ |access-date=1 February 2024 |website=Dentist in Roswell GA {{!}} Family & Cosmetic dentist {{!}} Dentist Roswell GA |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010 film)|Don't Be Afraid of the Dark]]'' – A film featuring an early version of the creatures
* [[Fairy]]
* [[Ratoncito Pérez]] – Spanish tooth mouse
* [[Hammaspeikko]] – Finnish tooth troll
* ''[[Hogfather]]'' – ''Discworld'' novel featuring their version of the Tooth Fairy

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Lainez, Rene Colato (2010). ''The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez''. Illustrated by Tom Lintern. {{ISBN|978-1-58246-296-7}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Kanner |first1=Leo |title=Folklore of the Teeth |date=1928 |publisher=Macmillan |oclc=599073113 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015072773057 }}
* Narváez, Peter (1997) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DLmoKKkxAX0C The Good People: New Fairylore Essays]'' (section V). [[University Press of Kentucky]].
* Wynbrandt, James (1998). ''The Excruciating History of Dentistry''. St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-26319-8}}.

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q846982|wikt=tooth fairy|c=Category:Tooth fairy|b=no|n=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|q=no|species=no}}
* [https://slate.com/podcasts/decoder-ring/2023/05/the-tooth-fairys-resistance-to-commercialization "Who Owns the Tooth Fairy"], from ''Decoder Ring'' in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' by Willa Paskin (10 May 2023)
* [https://columbiadentallv.com/how-to-be-the-tooth-fairy-the-magical-story-of-the-tooth-fairy-tradition/ "The Magical Story of the Tooth Fairy Tradition"]
{{Fairies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tooth Fairy}}
[[Category:Tooth fairies| ]]
[[Category:Childhood]]
[[Category:European folklore characters]]
[[Category:Traditions]]