August 22, 2022 – Tooth Fairy

It’s National Tooth Fairy Day! The concept of the Tooth Fairy is relatively recent – the first reference was in a Chicago newspaper column in 1908. But cultures all over the world have commemorated lost baby teeth for centuries. In Northern Europe, there was a “tooth fee” when a child lost their first tooth. In Norse culture, children’s teeth were said to bring good luck in battle, so Scandinavian fighters often wore necklaces made of children’s teeth (sounds like a horror movie to me!).
The Middle Ages gave rise to more superstitions around children’s teeth. In England, children burned their baby teeth to spare them from hardship in the afterlife. It was also believed that if a witch got hold of your teeth, they could have total power over you.
Not every country believes in the Tooth Fairy. The Spanish equivalent is El Ratoncito Perez, or Perez the Little Mouse. The character is still popular in most Spanish-speaking countries, even being used in ads for Colgate toothpaste. France and Belgium have a similar character, La Petite Souris, or “the little mouse”. There, they not only leave him their teeth, but pieces of cheese as well.
In Japan, when a child loses an upper tooth, it’s thrown straight down onto the ground, while lower teeth are tossed straight up in the air. The idea is that this will cause incoming teeth to grow in straight. In South Korea, children throw their teeth onto their roofs. It is believed that if a magpie (the Korean national bird) finds a tooth on the roof, it’ll bring good luck.
In 2022, the average amount the Tooth Fairy leaves is $5.36, according to the annual Original Tooth Fairy Poll conducted by Delta Dental. That’s an all-time high, and an increase of 14% over last year. Learn more here.