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The Tooth Fairy is a giving character in modern Western culture said to give children a small amount of money (or sometimes a present) in exchange for a tooth when it comes out of a child's mouth.
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 make-believe 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.
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.
This tradition is present in several western cultures under different names, for example in Spanish-speaking countries, this character is called Ratoncito Pérez, a little mouse with a common surname. In Italy also the tooth fairy (fatina) is often substited by a small mouse (topino).
Tooth Fairy Ritual
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, small banknote, or 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.
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.
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.
Origins
The Tooth Fairy calls upon the European folklore of House Elves or Brownies who will often perform useful tasks or exchange valuable treasures for things humans view as mundane or useless.
Cultural historians say that superstition has always surrounded teeth and these valuable tokens have been used to ward off witches and demons in the past. Vikings were even supposed to give kids a "tooth fee" for using children's teeth.
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.
The most commonly accepted belief by academics is the fairy's development from the tooth mouse, depicted in an 18th century French language fairy tale. In "La Bonne Petite Souris," a mouse changes into a fairy to help a good Queen defeat an evil King by hiding under his pillow to torment him and knocking out all his teeth. Also, in Europe, baby teeth used to be fed to rodents and other animals in the hopes of getting sharper, more rodent-like, teeth in the future.
This combination of ancient international traditions has evolved into one that is distinct in the United States. Folklorist Tad Tuleja suggests three factors that have turned this folk belief into a national custom: postwar affluence, a child-directed family culture, and media encouragement.
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.
In Japan, when a tooth falls out of a child, usually he or she should throw it by himself/herself, to the roof when it came from lower jaw or to the space beneath the floor when it came from upper jaw, shouting "please replace it with the tooth of mouse." This is also based on the fact that teeth of mouse go on growing for its whole life, a coincidence with "tooth mouse" superstitions in Western countries.
Popular Culture
In Tim Allen's movies Santa Clause 2 and 3, Art LaFleur plays the part of the Tooth Fairy. He is part of a council of fictional folk characters headed by "Mother Nature". He helps Santa Claus return to the North Pole at one point, when Santa's magic runs. He also wanted to change his name to the "Molinator" which he considers to be more masculine than being called the Tooth Fairy.
In the movie Darkness Falls, the Tooth Fairy was a woman burned to death on the belief that she killed two children. She comes back from the dead as a ghost who wears a mask to hide her burned face. She only appears in the dark and kills those who have seen her.
In the fantasy TV miniseries The 10th Kingdom, "Tooth Fairy" is the nickname for the prison dentist, played by Timothy Bateson.
The novel and film version of Red Dragon feature a serial killer called "The Tooth Fairy" by the tabloid press.
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"Tooth fairy"