Losing your first tooth is a very exciting time for tiny humans. Not only are they becoming a big kid, but their teeth are falling in order to make way for permanent ones. They’ve had those teeth for a while, so it’s a strange feeling to have your tooth to start wiggling around in your mouth. The added bonus to this strange time is finding out that you can expect some type of treat after you tuck that tooth under your pillow before bedtime. But why has this tradition come to pass? In honor of National Tooth Fairy Day, let’s take a closer look at why we have the Tooth Fairy ever-present in our childhoods…
Believe it or not, the Tooth Fairy is just one of a group of fairies that were created in the 1920’s to teach our tiny humans lessons to stay in good health. There were fairies for everything – bath fairies and tooth whitening fairies – all of which taught our children to eat their veggies or go outside and play outside in the fresh air. In 1927, Esther Watkins Arnold created an 8-page playlet that brought what we know as the Tooth Fairy to life and was performed by children the following year. To knock in the fairy idea home, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published pictures of two little girls surrounded by “verified” fairies he claimed were real. Add a touch of Disney with their creations of Pinocchio and Cinderella and you have a perfect mythical character to help ease your child into the new world of losing their teeth and becoming a big kid.
For more information about the Tooth Fairy, call Dr. Schneider in Mooresville, NC at 704-660-1802 or visit www.schneidersmiles.com.
Drs. Catherine and Kenneth Schneider proudly serve patients from Mooresville and all surrounding areas.