Make Losing a Tooth Fun with the Tooth Fairy!

February 28th is National Tooth Fairy Day. So, when did the legend of the tooth fairy begin? How do countries around the world celebrate the tooth fairy? Learn some fun ways to incorporate the tooth fairy into your child’s life when she loses a tooth.

Losing Baby Teeth

Before your child loses a tooth, explain to them how this is a natural process, so they don’t have unnecessary fear about the event. When your child is approaching losing their first tooth, help ease his fears by adding some excitement–the tooth fairy!

The tooth fairy will have lots of opportunities to visit your house in your child’s pre-teen years. In fact, your child will lose all 20 baby teeth during this time. 20 opportunities to make it memorable and exciting. How you care for those 20 teeth early on will impact how the 32 permanent teeth that follow look and last.

Teach your child that baby teeth act as spacers until the permanent teeth come in. Because of this important role, you don’t want them falling out prematurely due to decay or injury. Premature tooth loss can cause other teeth to come in crooked. Baby teeth that decay can pass that bacteria to the permanent tooth even before it makes it through the surface!

Baby teeth are responsible for more than just holding space for adult teeth either. They also aid in appearance, confidence, speaking, and digestion.

Tooth Fairy History

The tooth fairy made her appearance in American in the early 1900s. But a concept of her has existed for centuries. Cultures around the world treat tooth loss with great importance. For some, teeth are lucky and worn into battle. For others, teeth are buried to keep bad luck away. European nations had a magical mouse/rat that would come and take teeth offerings in exchange for healthy, strong permanent teeth. In America, we have the tooth fairy. A benevolent fairy born out of historical influences but cemented into character with the help of popular Disney fairies from movies like Cinderella and Pinocchio that were popular around the time.

Ideas to Make Tooth Loss Fun

Losing a tooth and having a visit from the tooth fairy is a rite of passage; it is an event your child will remember forever. Consider adding to the magic with the following fun ideas:

• Make a tooth container box together that you can put under the pillow our somewhere in the room.
• Add some magic when the tooth fairy visits by adding fairy dust, footprints, a possibly a hand-written note from the tooth fairy herself.
• Consider leaving a gift from the tooth fairy. A sugar free treat, some money, a book, or some other inexpensive toy.
• Remind the child that the tooth fairy is a benevolent, kind visitor. Keep in mind that some children may be fearful. If your child is more comfortable, put the tooth container out of their bedroom in a commonplace room in your home so your child will rest more easily.

Taking the time to make tooth loss fun takes some of the fear and out of the actual loss. Our team at Li’l Sunshine Smiles Dentistry is here to help you with the process. Call us today at (813) 576-0200 for some more ideas!

Schedule Your Child’s Biannual Oral Exam and Cleaning Today

Stay ahead of premature tooth loss by staying on top of your child’s oral health and wellness. In-office exams ensure that your child’s teeth are developing as they should and that the mouth is free of harmful decay. Oral exams also give us an opportunity to educate your child on tooth loss, tooth health, and the importance of good eating. We are here to help you every step of the way with your child’s oral wellness journey. Contact us today!