Tooth fairy
146141
225636282
2008-07-14T17:47:20Z
91.12.210.26
The '''tooth fairy''' is an example of [[folklore]] [[mythology]].<ref name=JN>[http://www.thejournalnews.com/toothfairy/ The tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth], Rob Ryser, The Journal News, October 23, 2004.</ref> The fairy gives [[child]]ren a gift (often money) in exchange for a [[Deciduous teeth|baby tooth]] when it comes out of the child's mouth. Children typically leave the tooth under their pillow for the fairy to take while they sleep. The tooth fairy then adds the tooth to a special part of her mythical and ever expanding all-white tooth castle in the sky. The tooth fairy myth is actively practiced in the [[US]], [[Ireland]], [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[South Africa]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and much of the [[United Kingdom|UK]].<ref name=Wynbrandt>[http://books.google.com/books?id=m75iy1n-H6YC&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=tooth+fairy+american+invention&source=web&ots=zaSNbJ8YhJ&sig=mymIJWJOToTIHqmeDMjz_Fc3MXw The Excruciating History of Dentistry], James Wynbrandt, St. Martin's Press, 1998. ISBN ISBN 0312263198</ref>
==Origins==
===The development of the Tooth Fairy legend===
At one time in Europe, there was a tradition to bury baby teeth that fell out.<ref>[http://www.thesmilestones.com/toothfairyhistory.htm The History of the Tooth Fairy<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The most commonly accepted belief by academics is the fairy's development from the tooth mouse, depicted in an 18th century [[French language]] [[fairy tale]]. In "La Bonne Petite Souris," a mouse changes into a fairy to help a good [[monarch|Queen]] defeat an evil [[monarch|King]] by hiding under his pillow to torment him and knocking out all his teeth.
This combination of ancient international traditions has evolved into one that is distinct in the [[United States]], [[Australia]], [[United Kingdom]], and other Anglophonic cultures. Folklorist Tad Tuleja suggests three factors that have turned this folk belief into a national custom: postwar affluence, a child-directed family culture, and media encouragement.
Rosemary Wells, a former professor at the [[Northwestern University Dental School]], found archival evidence that supports the origin of different tooth fairies in the United States around 1900. The Tooth Fairy, a three-act playlet for children by Esther Watkins Arnold, was published in 1927. On May 28, 1938, [[MGM]] released [[The Little Rascals]] short entitled, ''[[The Awful Tooth]]'', in which some of the gang agreed to pull their teeth out to make money courtesy of the tooth fairy.<ref>[http://www.4alfalfa.com/Commentary/tooth.html 4alfalfa.com: "The Awful Tooth" episode commentary]</ref> The first written reference to one specific symbol in [[American literature]] did not appear until the 1949 book, "The Tooth Fairy" by Lee Rothgow. Dr. Wells created a Tooth Fairy Museum in 1993 in her hometown of Deerfield, Illinois.
The modern image of the Tooth Fairy has been shaped by depictions in various media. The fairy's first major appearance in popular culture in the United States came in the [[Peanuts]] comic strip. In a March 1961 strip, new character Frieda asks if the prices are set by the [[American Dental Society]]. The character of the Tooth Fairy has also appeared in several children's and an adults' books and films, as well as an eponymous [[radio]] series.
==Modern traditions==
===Tooth Fairy ritual===
[[Image:Silvia teeth 27 may 06 email.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An eight-year-old's gift to the Tooth
Fairy]]
In [[Anglophone|Anglophonic]] cultures, a child will traditionally place a lost tooth under his or her [[pillow]] before going to sleep. In the morning the child finds a [[coin]], small banknote, or a present in the place of the tooth. The child is [[White lie|typically told]] that the tooth fairy came during the night and exchanged the tooth for the gift.
A less-common variant is for the child to place the tooth in a glass of water beside the bed. Again, in the morning, the tooth is replaced with a coin. It is far easier for parents to find a tooth in a glass of water beside the bed without waking the child than it is to search under the pillow.
The Tooth [[Fairy]] is an example of [[folklore]] [[mythology]] sometimes presented to children as fact; other prominent examples are [[Santa Claus]] (who originates from [[Saint Nicholas]]) and the [[Easter Bunny]]. The realization or discovery that others may act on behalf of the tooth fairy is considered a part of growing up. Some adults remember clearly for their whole lives when and how they discovered the truth about the tooth fairy.
Many families continue to participate in the roles of this myth even after the children have become aware of the fictionality of the tooth fairy, as a form of [[Play (activity)|play]] or [[tradition]].
The primary useful purpose of the tooth-fairy myth is probably to give children a small reward and something to look forward to when they lose a tooth, a process which they might otherwise find worrisome. It also gives children a reason to give up a part of themselves that they may have grown attached to.
Some believe that other useful purposes include giving children a sense of faith in things unseen, believing in the [[incorporeal]], and giving them a little mystery to solve, helping them understand the difference between the real and the imaginary. It is believed children gain some maturity as they solve the mystery of the source of the money or gift. According to popular [[folklore]], teeth will be exchanged for presents on any day of the year except [[Christmas]].
===Other tooth traditions===
Tooth tradition is present in several [[western culture]]s under different names. For example in [[Spanish language|Spanish-speaking]] countries, this character is called ''Ratoncito [[Pérez]]'', a little [[mouse]] with a common surname, or just "ratón de los dientes" (Tooth Mouse). The "Ratoncito Pérez" character was created around 1894 by the priest [[Luis Coloma]] (1851–1915), a member of the [[Real Academia Española]] since 1908. The Crown asked Coloma to write a tale for the 8-year old [[Alfonso XIII]], as one of his teeth had fallen out.
A Ratón Pérez appeared in the tale of [[the Vain Little Mouse]].
The Ratoncito Pérez was used by [[Colgate]] marketing in Venezuela<ref name="Producto">[http://www.producto.com.ve/productor/gdental.html ¡Producto Registrado!: Agosto 1998: Centuria Dental].</ref> and Spain{{Fact|date=April 2008}}.
In [[Italy]] also the Tooth Fairy (''Fatina'') is often substituted by a small mouse (''topino''). In [[France]], this character is called ''La Petite Souris'' (« The Little Mouse »). From parts of Lowland [[Scotland]], comes a tradition similar to the fairy mouse: a white fairy rat which purchases the teeth with coins.
In some Asian countries, such as [[Korea]], and [[Vietnam]], when a child loses a tooth the usual custom is that he or she should throw it onto the roof if it came from the lower jaw, or into the space beneath the floor if it came from the upper jaw.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} While doing this, the child shouts a request for the tooth to be replaced with the tooth of a mouse. This tradition is based on the fact that the teeth of mice go on growing for their whole life, a characteristic of all rodents.
In parts of [[India]], young children offer their discarded milk tooth to the sun, sometimes wrapped in a tiny rag of cotton turf.
==In films==
Numerous films have been made on this theme, mostly horror. One example is ''[[Darkness Falls (2003 film)|Darkness Falls]]'', a film by [[Jonathan Liebesman]], in which an evil-spirit of a woman killed long ago assumes the form of the 'Tooth Fairy', and starts haunting. Another example is ''[[The Tooth Fairy]]'', directed by [[Chuck Bowman]]. In this film, a murderous woman kills children for their teeth.
More comedic versions on the theme include the 1997 TV movie ''[[Toothless (TV)|Toothless]]'', in which [[Kirstie Alley]] plays a dentist who reluctantly becomes a tooth fairy, and the to-be-released ''[[Tooth Fairy (2009 film)|Tooth Fairy]]'', starring [[The Rock]].
In [[1991 in film|1991]], [[Lacewood Productions]] produced a 24-minute children's [[animated short]], entitled ''"[[Tooth Fairy, Where Are You?]],"'' in which an inexperienced tooth fairy-in-training named Dottie is accidentally discovered by a little girl, Lori, as she attempts to collect her tooth. The two characters became best friends from thereafter and are sad when they must part following Dottie becoming an official tooth fairy.
In [[Hellboy_II:_The_Golden_Army|Hellboy II: The Golden Army]], tooth fairies are featured as small ravenous creatures that eat humans alive, starting with the teeth.
==External links==
* [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtoothfairy.html Straight Dope Staff Report: What's the origin of the tooth fairy?]
* [http://tooth-fairy.org Tooth Fairy Folklore and Kid's Stuff]
* [http://www.littletoothfairy.com/All-about-the-Tooth-Fairy.html Tooth Fairy Beliefs and Lore]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fairies]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Traditions]]
[[da:Tandfe]]
[[de:Zahnfee]]
[[es:Ratoncito Pérez]]
[[fr:Petite souris]]
[[it:Fatina dei denti]]
[[he:פיית השיניים]]
[[hu:Fogtündér]]
[[ja:歯の妖精]]
[[nn:Tannfe]]
[[pl:Zębowa wróżka]]
[[ru:Зубная фея]]
[[fi:Hammaskeiju]]
[[sv:Tandfe]]