For hundreds of years people have shared mystical legends and traditions about the loss of baby teeth. The early Europeans buried children’s teeth to spare the child from hardships in their afterlife. The Vikings believed that children’s teeth had magical powers that could help them fight in battle. They would pay their children for their lost baby teeth and string them onto necklaces and other jewelry. However, the most widely practiced ritual, one that has been documented everywhere from Russia to New Zealand to Mexico, involves offering the lost tooth as a sacrifice to a mouse or rat, in the hopes that the child’s adult teeth will continuously grow like a rodents does; and grow as strong and sturdy as the rodent’s.
The Tooth Fairy made her debut in America in 1927. Author Esther Watkins Arnold wrote the character into her eight-page play called, “The Tooth Fairy: Three-act Playlet for Children.” However, only in 1950, with the release of Disney’s animated fairy characters in Cinderella and Pinocchio, did the tooth fairy gain popularity and quickly become a presence in most households.
In her article “Flights of Fancy, Leaps of Faith,” Cindy Dell Clark, discussed that leaving money for each tooth, is another distinctly American invention, one that helps children transition into the world of adulthood, where cash is a symbol of increased responsibility. Additionally, the rise in popularity follows at a time of American prosperity. During the great depression, just giving away nickels and dimes would not make sense. However, during a time of more economic prosperity, the tooth fairy myth could flourish.
So how much is a tooth worth today?
According to Delta Dental’s annual Original Tooth Fairy Poll, the average value of a tooth is $4.13. However, parents and dentists use the Tooth fairy to encourage dental health with the notion that a tooth that has no cavities receives a larger reward.
So there you have it – the origins of the tooth fairy!
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