Tooth Fairy Facts and Fantasies

In ancient times all things belonging to children: hair scrapes, nail clippings and, most certainly, baby teeth, were thought to need extra protection from harm or possession by evil spirits. Thus, the Tooth Fairy and others with charitable intensions and positive mystic powers were sought out and looked to for the safe keeping of such items. This notion, preserved through myth, folklore, tradition and legend, continues today, less to safeguard but moreover for playfulness and whimsy. The most prominent custodian of baby teeth in the United Sates since early 1900 has been the Tooth Fairy. However, others with similar responsibilities such as rabbits, dogs, mice, rats, pigs, birds and, yes, other sorts of fairies, serve as stewards and overseers of lost baby teeth world wide.

The lost tooth rituals preformed by children in conjunction with the Tooth Fairy or Tooth Fairy cohorts, have been and still are fulfilled by amazing practices and in amusing manners varying widely throughout the globe. The esteemed lost baby tooth has been and continues to be thrown to the sun, into fires, over and under houses, tossed onto roofs, planted in the ground, flowerpots or window boxes, placed in new plant shoots or at the foot of the child’s bed, thrown into rivers, tied in trees, hidden in slippers and dipped in gold or silver to be used as a good luck necklace or earring. The Tooth Fairy residing in the United States typically finds the lost tooth placed under the child’s bed pillow or tucked securely into a Tooth Fairy Pillow made exclusively for lost baby teeth. Tooth magic occurs at night, most probably around midnight, where the baby tooth is removed from the Tooth Fairy Pillow, thus exchanging the little “treasure” for a few coins or a small gift from the Tooth Fairy.

Today, as in ancient times, our children are protected and revered above all else. We realize childhood is an extraordinary and enchanting season, admittedly, much too brief and fleeting. A lost tooth is one of the first signs of growing up. Some part of childhood is left behind as each baby tooth falls away. For that reason, the Tooth Fairy tries to provide and preserve something unique and magical for your child during that while. The Tooth Fairy can help make timeless memories. Tools used by the Tooth Fairy are Tooth Fairy Pillows, Tooth Fairy Journals and Tooth Fairy Letters. Allow the Tooth Fairy to help your child and you create a personalized keepsake of this special journey from childhood into adolescence and beyond.

Sincerely,

Jean Hylland