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AS DENTAL HEALTH<\/b> professionals, our favorite figure in the magic of childhood has to be the Tooth Fairy. We all remember what it was like to leave a baby tooth under the pillow and find a shiny quarter in its place the next morning. It\u2019s fascinating to see how the traditions around baby teeth differ across the world and even in the past.<\/p>\nWhat Came Before the Tooth Fairy?<\/h3>\n
Medieval Europeans didn\u2019t leave baby teeth under pillows for the tooth fairy; instead, they buried them in the ground. They believed a witch could control people if she got access to their teeth, so they had to hide them where she couldn\u2019t find them.<\/p>\n
Another tradition they had was to burn baby teeth to help ensure a peaceful afterlife because they believed that they might end up stuck as ghosts searching for their teeth for eternity if they weren\u2019t destroyed. That\u2019s a little more intense than a tooth fairy.<\/p>\n
A little farther north, the Vikings took a very different view. They considered baby teeth to be good luck in battle<\/strong> \u2014 to such an extent that they would buy them in order to make necklaces out of children\u2019s teeth. Would that be strange-looking or intimidating to go up against on the battlefield?<\/p>\n Not every culture has a magical tooth collector who looks like Tinkerbell. Many European and Latin-American countries instead have a Tooth Mouse!<\/strong> In France, she\u2019s called La Petit Souris (\u201cthe little mouse\u201d), and she swaps out teeth hidden under pillows for small gifts or money just like the Tooth Fairy. Spanish-speaking countries typically call their Tooth Mouse \u201cRaton Perez.\u201d<\/p>\n Our modern Tooth Fairy traditions have their roots in European folklore, like many of our other traditions. The version we recognize began in the early 1900s with the help of fairy characters popularized by Walt Disney.<\/strong> They gave the idea enough traction to help it grow into what it became.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the going rate for a baby tooth these days?<\/b><\/p>\nHow About a Tooth Mouse?<\/h3>\n
Who Came Up With the Tooth Fairy?<\/h3>\n