The tooth fairy is one of the newer characters to appear, traditionally visiting children after they have lost a tooth and replacing this with money or another gift underneath their pillow. It has been used by parents for many years as both as way in which to relieve some of the anxiety and fear that goes along with losing a tooth and also as a way to encourage children to look after the health of their teeth. You certainly don’t want to be taking a child to a Dental Implant Cardiff company due to lack of teeth.
Here are some interesting facts about this magical character.
Whilst the character of the tooth fairy may be relatively new in history, the celebration of a child losing a tooth has occurred for much longer. Back in the 13th Century in the Middle East there was a tradition where the tooth that had fallen out was thrown into the air and a prayer was said for the replacement tooth to be strong and healthy. In India teeth that fall from the lower jaw are thrown into the air and those from the upper jaw and thrown to the ground. This is thought to bring about the replacement teeth growing straight. In Scandinavian countries the tradition is slightly more fearful than the thought of a airy entering your room at night to replace the tooth with a gift. They tell children about Hammaspeikko who is a tooth troll that comes looking for children who don’t brush their teeth.
This celebration of baby teeth being replaced by adult teeth dates all the way back to viking times when a gift was given from the parent to the child once their first baby tooth fell out. It was also believed that some vikings wor create talismen out of baby teeth as it was thought that this would bring them good luck and protection and strength during any battle that they may face.
The amount of money that is given for a tooth varies across the world and in come cases a gift is given instead. It is thought that in the United Kingdom the average amount given for a tooth is around £2 for the first tooth that is lost and then £1 for every subsequent tooth after that.
If you find that it is sometimes a battle to get your children to clean their teeth twice a day and to clean them properly, the tooth fairy can be used as a way in which to encourage good oral hygiene. Some children are told that the tooth fairy only takes teeth and leaves a gift for those baby teeth that fallen out in a good and healthy condition.
