Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy is a fictional character said to give children a small amount of money (or sometimes a present) in exchange for a tooth when it falls out of the deciduous dentition.

Pioneering scholar Rosemary Wells, a former professor at the Northwestern University Dental School, found archival evidence that supports the origin of different tooth fairies in the United States around 1900, but the first written reference to one specific symbol in American literature did not appear until the 1949 book, “The Tooth Fairy” by Lee Rothgow. Considered the world's tooth fairy expert, Dr. Wells even created the Tooth Fairy Museum in 1993 in her hometown of Deerfield, Illinois. But according to the local library, it evaporated after her death when her husband liquidated all her memorabilia.

The Tooth Fairy is an example of folklore mythology which adults know is fiction, but which is sometimes presented to children as fact. Other prominent examples are Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. The realization or discovery that such stories are false is considered a part of the child's growing up. Such realizations can also cause significant emotional pain in some children due to feelings of betrayal, while other children regard it as a small matter. Many adults remember clearly for their whole lives when and how they discovered the truth.

The primary useful purpose of the tooth fairy myth is probably to give children a small reward and something to look forward to when they lose a tooth, a process which they might otherwise find worrisome. Also, it gives children a reason to give up a part of themselves that they may have grown attached to.

Many families participate in the roles of this myth even when the children are also aware of the fictionality of the supposed supernatural entity, as a form of play or tradition. Typically, upon losing a tooth the child places the tooth under his or her pillow before going to sleep. In the morning the child finds a coin (or possibly a small bill, sometimes a present) in the place of the tooth. In reality this is done by the child's parents or guardians. A less-common variant is for the child to place the tooth in a glass of water beside the bed. Again, in the morning, the tooth is replaced with a coin.

Some believe that other useful purposes include giving children a sense of faith in things unseen, believing in the incorporeal, and helping them understand the difference between the real and the imaginary. The Tooth Fairy calls upon the European folklore of House Elves or Brownies who will often preform useful tasks or exchange valuable treasures for things humans view as mundane or useless.

In a variety of primitive cultures, the shedding of the first baby tooth became a kind of ritual. This rite of passage has been documented numerous ways. Many of these ceremonies included verbal incantations and wishes, along with actions. Variations on this custom were most likely passed along through oral communication.