It was a surprise to me to discover that there are two days a year to celebrate the tooth fairy!
Today, and also August 22nd are both marked on calendars as tooth fairy days.
I can remember getting a coin under my pillow to replace a tooth. And I still have quite a collection of my children’s teeth, and one from my beagle too. Which begs the questions asked on sites like mumsnet:
- how much for a tooth?
- how do I explain what happens to the tooth – the fairy tale?
- what do I actually do with all those lost teeth – what’s the reality?
As a child, I wasn’t at all interested in the fate of the lost tooth, just the money. But, the irony was, I’d take the coin down to the village post-office and buy sweets. Or a fizzy drink.
And I’d never heard of the tooth rodent either!
Some cultures have a mouse, rat, squirrel or beaver to magic away those teeth. Those animals all have impressive teeth. Without good, strong teeth they wouldn’t survive. As a symbol, a rodent makes good sense!
Why do we have tooth fairy days?
I think it’s a reminder that our teeth are important, and we should value them. I love that slogan “Only floss the teeth you want to keep!” As a child, pocket money was a token, and the tooth fairy paid more than a month’s pocket money, so it wasn’t difficult to appreciate the value of teeth.
Moreover, losing a tooth can be traumatic for a child, especially those front teeth. The tooth fairy (and the cash!) offer some compensation for all that wiggling and wobbling, blood and anxiety. It’s a comfort, and a bribe! Because the story goes that the tooth fairy only wants beautiful shiny teeth that s/he can turn into furniture, jewellery, fairy-dust, or a castle.
And so the tooth fairy reminds us all of the value of teeth.
It actually makes good sense to have two tooth fairy days a year. It answers the question parents often ask: “How often should children go to the dentist?”
Well, the tooth fairy days remind us that it should be every six months!
SpaDental surgeries organise regular Children’s Days during half-term and school holidays.
Three of our practices, SpaDental Chard, SpaDental Plymouth and SpaDental Whitchurch are currently registering children as NHS patients to support government initiatives to promote healthy teeth for children.
Contact your nearest practice to find out how what arrangements they have to help all the family to have healthy teeth.