Celebrate Tooth Fairy Day on August 22nd!

The tooth fairy is so special – she gets TWO days of celebration! On February 28th and August 22nd, dentists and children celebrate ‘Tooth Fairy Day’. While it may not be as exciting as Christmas, the story of the Tooth Fairy is quite a tale!

Origins of the Tooth Fairy

Every culture has its own story of the Tooth Fairy, but they all are pretty similar. While some stories can be quite disturbing – looking at you Ireland – other origin stories depict her much the same way as we do today. During the 1800s, children in Italy and France Italian received a small gift while they slept for the loss of a tooth. In England, fairy coins were given to sleeping peasant girls. In Ireland, unless you buried a baby tooth, the child would be kidnapped and switched for a fairy. We greatly prefer stories from Italy!

Modern Day Stardom

Why do we still celebrate the Tooth Fairy? Tradition can be strong, and in this case, tradition is nearly magical. Much of the reason we still celebrate the Tooth Fairy is because of her rise to fame. Sometime before 1920, La Bonne Petite Souris,” or “The Good Little Mouse,” was written. This popular play tells a tale of a fairy disguised as a mouse that helps a queen escape from her terrible husband, the king, by removing his teeth! This play gained popularity and before you could say ‘baby tooth’, a slew of other stories had grabbed onto the concept. Here are some other plays and stories written about similar fairies:

1920s: “La Bonne Petite Souris” is released in English.
1949: Collier’s magazine publishes a story about the Tooth Fairy.
1950’s: American families are prosperous and adopt a child-centric view of home life.
1950: The Fairy Godmother from Disney’s Cinderella is a widely popular character.
1953: Disney’s Peter Pan is released, and Tinkerbell is universally loved by America.
1979: The Tooth Fairy is cited in The World Book Encyclopedia.

The Tooth Business

As parents, you may have realized the Tooth Fairy’s prices are a bit steep as of late. Good ol’ inflation is alive and well, with the latest charge per tooth exceeding $6! All the more reason to keep your child’s teeth healthy with regular check-ups at the dentist. Don’t forget to celebrate Tooth Fairy Day on August 22nd!