Have you ever stopped to consider where the traditions you practice come from? Every generation grows up with traditions. Some are family-specific, others cultural. Over time these traditions change. New ones are created, and old ones are modified and/or discarded. One common tradition, recorded in every human culture, involves children’s baby teeth. Not that the traditions are the same, just that each culture has one. (And some are very strange indeed.)
Tooth Fairy
In the U.S., children place a lost baby tooth under their pillow so the Tooth Fairy will exchange it for money. Created in the U.S.—and shaped by Disney and their animated films—the Tooth Fairy is a mixture of various other cultures’ traditions. Author Lillian Brown introduced the modern tooth fairy in a Chicago Tribune article in 1908. She suggested new parents tell their children a “tooth fairy” would give them five cents for each baby tooth left under their pillow.
Concern for children’s health played a large role in popularizing this new ritual. In the mid-1920s, a variety of healthcare fairies taught children good healthcare practices. Then, in 1927, Esther Watkins Arnold’s eight-page playlet, The Tooth Fairy, brought the tooth fairy to life. A new tradition was born, though it didn’t become common across the country until after World War II.
DYK at the same time children were learning healthcare from those healthcare fairies, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes author) published photographs of “verified” fairies surrounding two girls? He claimed the photos were evidence that fairies and gnomes really existed.
Vikings
“Tand-fe” (“tooth fee”) was a Norse and Northern European tradition of children receiving a small fee from their parents and other adults for the first tooth they lost. This tradition, exchanging money for baby teeth, began in Scandinavia with the Vikings, but it quickly spread throughout Europe. Baby teeth were believed to be valuable and bring good luck. So Viking warriors purchased baby teeth and wore them on a necklace as a good luck charm.
Witches
In the Middle Ages, Europeans believed a witch could curse you if she had your teeth. So correctly disposing of baby teeth—by swallowing, burying, burning, or feeding them to rodents—was extremely important.
Rodents
One tradition, documented widely around the world, was to offer the baby tooth to a mouse or rat. This was done in hopes the child would have strong, sturdy teeth as an adult, exactly like those rodents. In various locations, including France, Italy, Scotland, and many Spanish-speaking countries, children leave their baby teeth under their pillows, hidden in slippers or shoes, or cups of water by their beds. During the night, a magical mouse is believed to creep into their homes, exchanging coins or small gifts for the teeth.
Other Traditions
Afghanistan children bury their teeth in a mouse hole. In many Far East countries, children wish on the tooth, which is then hidden by their parents. If the child finds the tooth the next year, they receive a second wish and good fortune. In Indonesia, children throw the lost tooth over their shoulder. A straight throw means a straight permanent tooth, while a crooked throw indicates a future crooked tooth.
Tradition’s Worth
Like everything else, the Tooth Fairy’s rate is affected by inflation. The average rate paid for a tooth increased from 12 to 85 cents from 1900 to 1975. Since 1998, Delta Dental has tracked the Tooth Fairy’s payments. In May 2022, the average payment hit a record high of $5.36/tooth.
Geographic/Monetary Average Breakdown per Tooth
- Northeast: $7.36 (highest)
- West: $3.66 (lowest)
- South: $5.77
- Midwest: $4.27
DYK Delaware’s Tooth Fairy pays the highest average of $8.91/tooth? Iowa’s Tooth Fairy pays the least at $2.30/tooth.
Regardless of the initial reasons for this tradition, believing in today’s tooth fairy is worth more than the money or small gifts that are left. In prompting children to maintain healthy oral habits, as well as easing their apprehension of losing a tooth, this tradition, as the saying goes, is priceless.