“I’ll take the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth.” -Tooth Fairy

The history of the Tooth Fairy goes back centuries to nearly all regions of the planet. The legend of the tooth fairy varies from country to country, but there are some overlapping details which we will discuss.

Teeth were thought to have an element of power, used to ward off evil. Vikings used to pay their children in exchange for their lost teeth. The Vikings strung the teeth to make necklaces and other jewelry which they would wear in battle for good luck and to keep away evil and dastardly characters. Similarly, the children of Europe in later centuries would bury their lost teeth as a form of superstition. Because teeth carried such power, witches often wanted them in order to increase their own power and place curses on children. Burying the teeth kept the witches from finding them.

Additionally the tooth fairy began as a tooth mouse. This tooth mouse would scamper across the land and collect the buried teeth. As referenced in the 18th century story “La Bonne Petite Souris”, a mouse hides under the pillow of an evil King, changes into a fairy, and knocks out the evil king’s teeth. This was a pivotal moment in Tooth Fairy history, completing the transition of the mouse into the modern day Tooth Fairy.

As people began to migrate, and the world’s population grew, bare land became scarcer, and children began hiding their teeth under their pillows instead of in the ground. Continuing on with the Viking tradition, parents would remove the tooth in the middle of the night and leave a treat, or more commonly, money, in its place. Today, many parents still hold on to these baby teeth, keeping them hidden away in a box or in the back of a drawer, because, let’s face it, we’re all still a little bit afraid of witches……

Some interesting Tooth Fairy statistics:
* The national average for the Tooth Fairy’s going rate is $2.13 per tooth. Compensation is less for anterior teeth, while more is provided for molars. The rate fluctuates for teeth that fall out naturally versus teeth which are extracted in a dental office.
84% of homes in the US are visited by the Tooth Fairy
86% of parents say the state of the economy has not impacted the going rate of the Tooth Fairy