Mythological & Legendary Figures Codexery

Tooth fairy

Folkloric figure who exchanges baby teeth for small payments.

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The tooth fairy is a folkloric figure in Western and Western-influenced cultures who visits children after they lose a baby tooth and replaces it with a small payment.[1] The earliest known record of this tradition is a 1908 "Household Hints" item in the Chicago Daily Tribune.[2] A children's playwright, Esther Watkins Arnold, first brought the elf-like creature to life in an 8-page playlet in 1927, christening it the "Tooth fairy".[3]

Quick Facts

Field
Folklore
Nationality
Western and Western-influenced cultures

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The tooth fairy's appearance varies greatly across different versions of the myth, unlike the well-established imagining of Santa Claus.[4][5] A 1984 study by Rosemary Wells found that 74% of those surveyed believed the tooth fairy to be female.[4] The Royal Canadian Mint issued special tooth fairy quarters only in 2011 and 2012.[6] In Spain and Hispanic America, the equivalent figure is El Ratoncito Pérez, a mouse who first appeared in an 1894 tale by Luis Coloma.[7]

In England during the Middle Ages, children were told to burn their baby teeth to avoid an afterlife spent searching for them.[8] Delta Dental data shows the average US payment per tooth increased from $1.30 in 1998 to $6.23 in 2023.[9] In Italy, a small mouse called Topolino frequently takes the place of the tooth fairy.[10][11]

What the cited sources add

The Underwood account notes that medieval Europeans may have been trying to grow "tooth trees" when they buried children's teeth in the earth.[8] The "National Tooth Fairy Day" source explains that the tooth fairy legend should teach a child to feel comfortable with their dentist and comply with oral health advice.[3] The same source reports that the standard payment for a baby tooth is one dollar, but notes that some tooth fairies give up much more for eye teeth and molars.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Blair, "Children's belief in Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy", Psychological Reports, June 1980, p. 691–694; Watts, "Tooth Fairy (legendary)", Facts on File, 2007, p. 386 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Underwood, "Legends of the Tooth Fairy", Recess! Media, 23 August 2005; Hartston, "The Encyclopaedia of Everything Else", Atlantic Books, 2022; Barnett, "The Smile Stealers: The Fine and Foul Art of Dentistry", Thames and Hudson, 2017, p. 228 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "National Tooth Fairy Day", Dentist in Roswell GA Family & Cosmetic dentist Dentist Roswell GA. facts only, no text reused. sunshinesmilesdentistry.com
  4. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brooker, "Tooth Fairy Lore Extracted", Toledo Blade, 2 February 1984 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wells, "The Good People: New Fairylore Essays", University Press of Kentucky, 1997, p. 426–446 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 2012 CANADA Tooth Fairy Gift Sett Special quarter reverse Mint sealed | eBay (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sadurní, J. M., "Luis Coloma and Ratoncito Pérez, the tale that born as a gift for a Queen", 7 May 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Underwood, "Legends of the Tooth Fairy", Recess! Media, 23 August 2005. facts only, no text reused. recess.ufl.edu
  9. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyko, "Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout reaches record high", Axios, 27 February 2023; Tyko, "Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout reaches record high", Axios, 27 February 2023; Lee, "'The Tooth Fairy sticks to a budget:' Kids are finding less under their pillows for lost teeth", USA Today, 14 August 2025; Tyko, "Tooth Fairy's lost teeth payout reaches record high", Axios, 27 February 2023; Lee, "'The Tooth Fairy sticks to a budget:' Kids are finding less under their pillows for lost teeth", USA Today, 14 August 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "La fatina dei denti", Quotidiano del Canavese, 22 August 2019. facts only, no text reused. quotidianocanavese.it
  11. Wikipedia, "Tooth fairy" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "La fatina dei denti", Quotidiano del Canavese, 22 August 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tooth fairy (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Named in this entry

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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