“World of the Tooth Fairies”: 9 Facts about the Origin and Identity of the Tooth Fairy

Welcome back!

My last blog was about the hot and sticky Summer. It was the last one of my “Four Seasons Series.”  In the first three blogs, I shared interesting facts about the colorful Autumn, the shorter, colder, and snowy days of Winter, and the birds chirping, allergies, and crazy Spring weather! You can still read all the blogs by clicking on their names. 

Today begins my new series: The World of the Tooth Fairies. The July and August blogs will be in English. The September and October ones will be in German. The blogs will include exclusive information that the Tooth Fairy shared with me during her Birthday Party. 

Who is the Tooth Fairy?

The Tooth Fairy is a kind, supernatural creature with human features and magical powers.  My Tooth Fairy is mobile-impaired. She uses her “Praconama” flying-hovering wheelchair to move around. Pra-con-ama stands for Practical, Convenient, and Amazing. Her Praconama wheelchair is made of teeth and moves very fast! I had to run to catch up with her during my visit to her castle. 

How does the Tooth Fairy look?

Not all Tooth Fairies look alike. It depends on the region where they live. My Tooth Fairy has beautiful dark skin, like Mom. She has black hair with bright color highlights. Her teeth sparkle! In many Western countries, the Tooth Fairies are small, have wings, and a wang. The rarest of them all is the transparent and glow-in-the-dark Tooth Fairy. The glow helps them to move around without awakening the child. In some other countries, a little mouse collects the teeth. 

Pssst, a secret my Tooth Fairy shared with my family. That mouse collects the teeth for the Tooth Fairy. (SHHHHH) 

What is the Tooth Fairy's name?

Tooth Fairies have different names. It depends on where they live. 

• Australia/Canada/UK/USA/New Zealand: Tooth Fairy. 

• Latin America/México/Spain: Ratoncito Pérez or El Ratoncito de los Dientes. 

• Brazil/Portugal: Fada do Dente o Rato Pérez.

• France: La Petite Souris.

• Austria/Germany: Zahnfee.  

My Tooth Fairy name is “Raia.” Her name means “Rays” in Latin. She likes her name very much because it describes how she travels.  Hm, now that I think about it. All the Tooth Fairies who came to Raia’s birthday party have Latin names. Many of the Tooth Fairies names are based on what they do with the collected teeth. 

How old is the Tooth Fairy?

While researching for my blog, The Tooth Fairy Birthday Party, Mom and I searched online and found a lot of information about it, but we still can’t tell how old she is. (sigh) 

The oldest record we found was from March 1, 1877, in “The Elk County Advocate” Newspaper (Ridgway, Pennsylvania). Somebody wrote a silly romance story about the Tooth Fairy. 1908 was her debut year. The Tooth Fairy was mentioned in the Chicago Daily Tribune (USA). 1927 Esther Watkins Arnold published an eight-page children's play, "The Tooth Fairy." This play was performed in schools. 1949 Lee Rogow published the short story “The Tooth Fairy” in a magazine. 

Mom said, “The Tooth Fairy is as old as time!” Ha, ha, ha!  How old do you think she is? 

Does the Tooth Fairy have a family?

It is complicated. I will tell you the unknown story the Tooth Fairy told us during her birthday party at our house. 

It all began many years ago. The Creator made them out of dust. He then breathed life into them and set them free to collect the teeth of children and animals. The Tooth Fairies are a huge international family. 

Although I asked, she didn’t tell us how many years ago. She looked at us, winked, and said with a smile: “It is a secret.”

Where does the Tooth Fairy live?

The Tooth Fairy lives in different places around the world. My Tooth Fairy “Raia” lives in a big, bright Tooth Castle way above the clouds. You can see it at night. It is the smallest shining star in the big dark sky. The tiny Tooth Fairies with wings live in Fairyland. Their houses have different shapes, just like our teeth. Those Tooth Fairies live mostly in the USA, Canada, some European countries, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. 

Uff I almost forgot the rarest Tooth Fairy, the transparent and glow-in-the-dark one. They live in places where they have different traditions to celebrate the lost of a tooth. For example: China, Greece, India, Japan, the Middle East, the Philippines, and Turkey. Their translucent castles are hidden in high places to protect them from bad weather and curious eyes. (wink) On sunny days, its glass turns dark to be unnoticed. Very clever, ah? 

Legend said that this Tooth Fairy has helped many lost children return home safely.

What type of talents does the Tooth Fairy have?

The Tooth Fairies have different special talents. Some people think of them as “magical power.” My Tooth Fairy, “Raia,” can change size and move quickly between bedrooms. The Dental Assistant teaches new teeth how to grow fast and healthy.  Toothie-Pixie helps the shy teeth come out.  The late toother Reporter keeps track of all the late toother, like me, around the world. When a child is over 8 years old and hasn’t lost the first milk teeth, she contacts Toothie-Pixie. The Detective solves tooth-missing cases. Sometimes, a tooth falls during transportation. Then the Detective Tooth Fairy will call her “Search Team” to help find the missing tooth. Uff, the list of their talents is too long to write it down. (wink) What other talents do you think she has? 

When is the Tooth Fairy's birthday?

The Tooth Fairy celebrates her birthday on National Tooth Fairy Day: February 28 and August 22. Why? Because we should go to the Dentist twice a year. Did you know our dentist and the Tooth Fairy work together? You can read about it on my blog, Letters to the Tooth Fairy.  

To celebrate her birthday, I will give away a copy of my book, “Joey Meets the Tooth Fairy” in August.   

To participate, send us a message and tell us: How old do you think the Tooth Fairy is?  Mom said to be sure your parents give you permission to send the message. Better still, write the message with your parents and send it together.

How can I contact the Tooth Fairy?

You can use our Contact Form. But only with your parents' permission. 

In my next blog, I will tell you about the Tooth Fairy’s Daily Routine.

Remember to brush your teeth and keep them clean for the Tooth Fairy.  

Joey Paco