Uncovering the Origins of the Tooth Fairy

In celebration of National Tooth Fairy Day, Feb. 28, here's a little history lesson regarding pixies with pediatric periodontal preferences.

In March 2006, I was lucky enough to be blessed with my first child, Michael. As most of you are probably aware, having children indeed touches every aspect of your life. Nothing is ever the same after that first glimpse at the helpless and innocent mini-me staring back at you.

Unfortunately for some children, this need for a change in lifestyle doesn’t make itself readily manifest to some parents. Your life is no longer your own. Get a reality check. Late nights out with friends--heck, late nights period, without serious sleep deprivation--are a thing of the past.

Being new at the time to the whole parenting experience, I found myself recalling some of my childhood memories. Through the prosecution of socially acceptable parenting techniques inflicted upon generations of children, including myself, I have been able to witness firsthand their effects on the development of my own offspring. Anyone who grew up watching “Sesame Street” in the 1970s can attest to the fact that you never forget the sing-songy and memorable lyrics of such classics as “The King of 8” and "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Nine.” It’s amazing the joyful memories which are resurrected by such simple educational entertainment, which has endured for almost 40 years. Mr. Hooper may be dead and Maria a little worn for wear, but Oscar is still grouchy, The Count is still counting and Snuffleupagus is still annoying.

Another such jewel of juvenescence which has found its way into the compulsive curriculum for my son is the ritualistic reward for lost youthful enameled dining devices. To be more to the point, I refer to the story of The Tooth Fairy. One has to wonder how or why such a bizarre ritual got its start. Even more puzzling is why such a preposterous practice endures and is passed on from generation to generation. Wiggy’s Words of Wisdom leaves no stone unturned when it comes to uncovering the truth about the absurd and asinine.

It’s generally accepted by researchers that the origins of this pediatric periodontal pixie stem from a French fairy tale from the 18th century. In “La Bonne Petite Souris,” a mouse changes into a fairy...not a stretch since he is already French...to help a good queen defeat an evil king by hiding under his pillow to torment him and knock out all of his teeth. Sounds like a fairy tale I want to tell my child right before he goes to sleep.

The modern tooth fairy custom seems to have taken root in the United States in the early 1900s and has spread internationally. Variations are actively practiced in Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and much of Great Britain. In Italy and France the Tooth Fairy is substituted by a small mouse. In Ireland the Tooth Fairy is known as Annabogle. In parts of Lowland Scotland there is a similar tradition, but the fairy mouse is replaced with a white fairy rat. Leave it to the Scots to at least attempt to de-sissify the tale.

So if you have a child or children who are dependent on you for their health, welfare and un-warped mental development, remember to keep the Tooth Fairy what it should be--another seed of mistrust of authority implanted in the minds of our youth by their parents to make a sometimes painful and potentially traumatic situation into one that can be rectified with money.

Is it a coincidence that the nuclear family started to decay around the same time Captain Kangaroo was cancelled by CBS in 1984? Just something to think about...

Marc “Wiggy” Kovacs - Defender of Denticiary Dishonesty