Santa Claus may get more press, but ask just about any child who the Tooth Fairy is and they’ll know who you’re talking about. In fact, there’s nothing more exciting to a young kid who’s lost a tooth than putting that tooth under their pillow at night and waking the next morning up to find that—gasp—it’s been replaced by money!

Of course, we parents know what’s really going on, but that doesn’t make the Tooth Fairy legend any less endearing. Many of us have similar memories from our own childhoods.

But how exactly did this whole Tooth Fairy thing get started?

As far as anyone can tell, it all started with a simple tradition in Europe. When a child lost a baby tooth, the child’s parents would take that tooth and bury it in the garden. Why did they do this? Maybe they did it to encourage a new tooth to grow, or maybe they did it for a superstitious reason, like preventing a witch from using the tooth to put a curse on their child.

Whatever the reason, the tradition persisted, but as families moved into towns and cities with more people, the tradition changed. Instead of burying the tooth underground it was put under a pillow, while the witch figure eventually became a generous, helpful fairy who would exchange the tooth for a gift like money.

For More Information

Want to learn more about the Tooth Fairy and its history? Check out Wikipedia and this helpful site to learn more. And if you’d like to schedule a checkup for yourself or your child, call one of our offices today. We have offices in Painesville, Jefferson, and Chardon.