Tooth fairy

The tooth fairy is an example of Americanfolklore mythology. The fairy gives children a gift (often money) in exchange for a baby tooth when it comes out of the child's mouth. Children typically leave the tooth under their pillow for the fairy to take while they sleep. While originating in the United States, the tooth fairy myth is actively practiced in Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and much of the UK.
Origins

The development of the Tooth Fairy legend
At one time in Europe, there was a tradition to bury baby teeth that fell out. The most commonly accepted belief by academics is the fairy's development from the tooth mouse, depicted in an 18th century French language fairy tale. In "La Bonne Petite Souris," a mouse changes into a fairy to help a good Queen defeat an evil King by hiding under his pillow to torment him and knocking out all his teeth.
This combination of ancient international traditions has evolved into one that is distinct in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and other Anglophonic cultures. Folklorist Tad Tuleja suggests three factors that have turned this folk belief into a national custom: postwar affluence, a child-directed family culture, and media encouragement.
Rosemary Wells, a former professor at the Northwestern University Dental School, found archival evidence that supports the origin of different tooth fairies in the United States around 1900, but the first written reference to one specific symbol in American literature did not appear until the 1949 book, "The Tooth Fairy" by Lee Rothgow. Dr. Wells created a Tooth Fairy Museum in 1993 in her hometown of Deerfield, Illinois.
The modern image of the Tooth Fairy has been shaped by depictions in various media. The fairy's first major appearance in popular culture in the United States came in the Peanuts comic strip. In a March 1961 strip, new character Frieda asks if the prices are set by the American Dental Society. The character of the Tooth Fairy has also appeared in several children's and an adults' books and films, as well as an eponymous radio series.

Modern traditions

Tooth Fairy ritual

An eight-year-old's gift to the Tooth Fairy
In Anglophonic cultures, a child will traditionally place a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going to sleep. In the morning the child finds a coin, small banknote, or a present in the place of the tooth. The child is typically told that the tooth fairy came during the night and exchanged the tooth for the gift.
A less-common variant is for the child to place the tooth in a glass of water beside the bed. Again, in the morning, the tooth is replaced with a coin. This variant is becoming more popular, as it is far easier for parents to find a tooth in a glass of water beside the bed without waking the child than it is to search under the pillow.
The Tooth Fairy is an example of folklore mythology sometimes presented to children as fact. Other prominent examples are Santa Claus (who originates from Saint Nicholas) and the Easter Bunny linking its origins to pagan worship. The realization or discovery that others may act on behalf of the tooth fairy is considered a part of growing up. Many adults remember clearly for their whole lives when and how they discovered the truth about the tooth fairy.
Many families participate in the roles of this myth even when the children are also aware of the fictionality of the tooth fairy, as a form of play or tradition.
The primary useful purpose of the tooth-fairy myth is probably to give children a small reward and something to look forward to when they lose a tooth, a process which they might otherwise find worrisome. It also gives children a reason to give up a part of themselves that they may have grown attached to.
Some believe that other useful purposes include giving children a sense of faith in things unseen, believing in the incorporeal, and giving them a little mystery to solve, helping them understand the difference between the real and the imaginary. It is believed children gain some maturity as they solve the mystery of the source of the money or gift. According to popular folklore, teeth will be exchanged for presents on any day of the year except Christmas.

Other tooth traditions
Tooth tradition is present in several western cultures under different names. For example in Spanish-speaking countries, this character is called Ratoncito Pérez, a little mouse with a common surname, or just "ratón de los dientes" (Tooth Mouse). The "Ratoncito Pérez" character was created around 1894 by the priest Luis Coloma (1851-1915), a member of the Real Academia Española since 1908. The Crown asked Coloma to write a tale for the 8-year old Alfonso XIII, as one of his teeth had fallen out.
In Italy also the Tooth Fairy (Fatina) is often substituted by a small mouse (topino). In France, this character is called La Petite Souris (« The Little Mouse »). In Ireland the Tooth Fairy is sometimes known as annabogle, although this is a more recent tradition. From parts of Lowland Scotland, comes a tradition similar to the fairy mouse: a white fairy rat which purchases the teeth with coins.
In some Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, when a child loses a tooth the usual custom is that he or she should throw it onto the roof if it came from the lower jaw, or into the space beneath the floor if it came from the upper jaw. While doing this, the child shouts a request for the tooth to be replaced with the tooth of a mouse. This tradition is based on the fact that the teeth of mice go on growing for their whole life, a characteristic of all rodents.
In parts of India, young children offer their discarded milk tooth to the sun, sometimes wrapped in a tiny rag of cotton turf

In films
Numerous films have been made on this theme, mostly horror. One example is Darkness Falls, a film by Jonathan Liebesman, in which an evil-spirit of a woman killed long ago assumes the form of the 'Tooth Fairy', and starts haunting. Another example is The Tooth Fairy, directed by Chuck Bowman. In this film, a murderous woman kills children for their teeth.

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