It seems like just days ago when I waited patiently for
my son's first little biters to erupt in his infant mouth. Those days somehow
melted magically into years and before I knew it, I could hear the Tooth Fairy
fluttering about.
Like many parents, I wondered: What is developmentally
normal when it comes to baby tooth loss, how does the tooth-obsessed fairy
collect her pearly prizes, and what is the paying pixie’s going rate for a baby
tooth these days?
Losing those baby teeth
Pediatric dentist Dr. Jill Jenkins says, in general,
children lose their first tooth between the ages of 4 and 7 with teeth falling
out in the order in which they first came in.
Should you yank a loose tooth?
"Usually, the best policy is to let it come out on
its own," Jenkins says. "If the other tooth is coming in, parents can
have their child suck on a popsicle to numb the gums and eat pizza crust,
carrots or apples. If a tooth is wiggly and we're not seeing the new tooth,
letting your child work through it on his own is usually the easiest way and
the least stressful way to go about it."
READ MORE: Making the most of your kids trip to the dentist
Be sure to consult your child's dentist if you have any
concerns.
Enter the Tooth
Fairy
That first loose tooth can cause anxiety for some
children. Often, anxiety turns to excitement as children listen to tooth-loss
stories exchanged among classmates and anticipate the reward the Tooth Fairy
leaves behind.
While the exact origin of the enigmatic Tooth Fairy is
steeped in mystery, historically the loss of baby teeth is an important rite of
passage.
The earliest known written records regarding baby teeth
date from northern Europe and describe a tann-fe, or tooth fee, in which money
was paid for a baby tooth.
In the Middle Ages, Europeans, fearing witches could
curse their children if they acquired their baby teeth, buried the teeth in the
ground.
The Vikings wore baby teeth as jewelry considering them
good luck talismans in battle. Other cultures fed the teeth to animals
believing the adult tooth would resemble the animal's powerful, strong
teeth.
Today, countries all over the world continue to mark the
loss of baby teeth with various customs.
In Spain, France, Italy and Mexico, for example, the
Tooth Fairy appears as a small white mouse or rat, symbolic because rodents
have strong teeth that never stop growing.
In Sweden, the baby tooth is placed in a glass of water
where it is mysteriously replaced overnight with coins. And, it is customary in
much of the Middle East for baby teeth to be thrown towards the sun and in
Asia, onto the roof.
The Tooth Fairy as many of us know her, appeared in the
early 1900s.
READ MORE: Having trouble getting your kids to brush?
Cups, pillows,
pockets and doors
The Tooth Fairy isn't picky about how she collects baby
teeth.
Lori Poland grew up placing her baby teeth in a clear
glass of water on her nightstand. She says she loved fishing a wet $2 bill out
of the cup the next morning, setting it out to dry and storing it in her memory
box.
Although a tooth placed in a plastic Ziploc bag or
envelope tucked under the pillow should do the trick, many parents opt for a
Tooth Fairy pillow or pouch for their youngster. Retailers offer an assortment
of pillows or try making your own.
Monica Bradford designed a Tooth Fairy Pocket for her 6-year-old
son when he lost his first tooth.
"He placed his tooth in the pocket, hung it on his
bedpost and woke up to find $2 for his first tooth," she says.
Cathy Green, mom of three, says the Tooth Fairy enters
their home through a small ceramic door that Green's step-mother designed. The
door is outside the kids' bedrooms. After collecting the tooth from a small box
under the child's pillow, the Tooth Fairy replaces the tooth with her reward
and leaves the box next to the tiny door.
READ MORE: Looking for a new dentist?
What’s the going rate?
According to a 2021 survey conducted by Delta Dental, the tooth
fairy is paying big bucks. Kids are receiving an average of $5.40 per tooth.
That's up 17% from last year. For most kids the going rate for a freshly pulled tooth is between 25 cents and $1.
Beth Foster says that the Tooth Fairy typically pays her kids $1
per tooth although her daughter Logan, 6, discovered a $5 payout under her
pillow for her fifth tooth. "This is a Foster tradition and I've been
assured the good old fairy does not leave $10 for the tenth," Foster says.
What does the Tooth
Fairy do with those teeth?
Legend says that the Tooth Fairy tosses the teeth up to
the sky and they become stars. Naturally many theories exist.
Foster's daughter Logan says, "The fairy uses her
wand to shrink the teeth to a very small size so she can carry them in a
bag with her from house to house. She then takes the teeth to Santa so he
can use them to make toys."
Whatever she does with them, with each tooth lost,
adulthood gains another foothold on our kids. No wonder through the ages we've
found ways to mark this stage in our kids' lives, which seems as fleeting as
the Tooth Fairy herself.
Freelance
journalist, Christa Melnyk Hines, and her husband are the parents of two boys.