waiting for the tooth fairy
It seems like ever since Mia got wind of the fact that many of her friends have been losing baby teeth since summer, she just couldn’t wait to lose hers. She’s been sleeping with her tooth fairy pillow practically every night “just in case” it falls out during nighttime sleep, and she’s been wiggling her teeth endlessly in the hopes that that one of her teeth will start losing its grip and become loose. Seemed like every week she would exclaim that her front teeth were loose, but in fact, it was just wishful thinking. A few weeks ago, however, I did see slight signs that there was some wiggle in her front bottom tooth.
I guess I had forgotten how important this little rite of passage was for little kids. It’s a big deal, but I hadn’t really thought about it too much until Mia became almost obsessed with losing a tooth. It also reminded me of the first time I lost a tooth when I was around the same age. I think most of you know that I immigrated to NY when I was 3, therefore my parents weren’t aware of some of the American customs surrounding certain things like losing your baby teeth. Why would they know about the tooth fairy? But of course I knew all about it from school and friends so when I lost my first tooth, I promptly stuck that thing under my pillow and waited. The next morning, I woke up, excited and lifted my pillow up fully expecting a shiny coin in exchange for that little tooth, and yet…there it was. My little tooth was still there. I remember feeling confused, disappointed, but thought…well, maybe the tooth fairy was busy. She’ll surely leave me something the next morning. But the next morning came and still nothing. I’m not sure how many mornings I waited for the tooth fairy, but I remember grabbing the tooth one morning when I just couldn’t take it anymore, pushing it up to my mom and saying, quite exasperated, “Don’t you know you’re supposed to be the tooth fairy!? You’re supposed to leave a quarter under my pillow!!!”.
Guess I was a realist even back then. I never had any disillusions that the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, or Santa was anyone but my mom.
So I’m ready for all this tooth fairy business, but I hear that inflation has upped the ante on how much these little teeth are worth. So 2 things to ask you – how much does the tooth fairy leave your kids? And the other question is a little more unusual. You see, Mia started saying that she felt another tooth behind her loose one, but really, sometimes you just think kids make up stuff (’cause sometimes they do), and we really didn’t think anything of it till one day we were looking at her teeth and did in fact, see the her adult teeth had already broken through the gums behind her baby teeth. Huh. After doing some research I hear that it’s not uncommon. Sometimes, the baby tooth will need to be pulled by a dentist so that the new teeth will have room to grow. I also read that if it happens to one teeth, it might happen to others. I haven’t called a dentist yet as the loose tooth has now become quite loose and I am hoping it will fall out soon on its own, but for about a minute there, I was having some real visions of going broke if Mia needed to get all her baby teeth pulled. We don’t have dental insurance (which is really why the Sugar Nazi rules over the nest). Does anyone out there have this happen to their kid?
The tooth fairy leaves our kids 1 golden dollar coin. The “gold” makes it seem special, and it doesn’t break the bank! There have been lots of questions about why other kids get toys or more money from the tooth fairy, but we’ve stuck to the fact that since it’s “rare” it must be more special! We had the same issue with the other teeth growing in, called the dentist, and was told it’s absolutely normal. Enjoy putting on your toothfairy wings!
OH my god. Your pictures are amazing. I just can´t believe how beautiful this blog is.
Your girls are so cute!
I loved that Halloween pictures!
Hey Jenna – here in the UK we leave a fifty pence coin. That probably doesn’t help you much, right? And I think there was a tooth popping up behind every one of Josh and Lucy’s loose milk teeth. I expect that’s what makes the other ones loose in the first place. Like you, however, the first time I saw it I was a little freaked and needed guidance from other Mum’s!
My youngest son was lazy and didn’t work at wiggling his teeth so he grew a row of what we called shark teeth behind his milk teeth. They were so far back that I was concerned they would stay that way. So I sat on the couch with him and we wiggled them out in 1 hour. His permanent teeth moved forward on their own but they are slightly crooked. Not as bad as I thought they could be. The word on the playground is that when the dentist pulls out teeth, the tooth fairy compensates accordingly.
I lost my first tooth at Chuck-E-Cheese in the first grade, amongst those creepy animatronic animals playing in a band. So when I think of losing teeth, I get a little scared. haha.
My son had a couple of “shark teeth” grow right behind his baby teeth and we never had to take him to the dentist to pull out the baby teeth. Maybe we should have? I’ve never been told otherwise by our dentist. We usually give $1 per tooth lost.
Our tooth fairy leaves $2, started by my husband; if I had tooth fairy duty the first night it would have been $1
Our kids never had to have a tooth pulled, but some of my friends have had to do that. If it’s really loose, just have her play with it a lot, twisting seems to be the key to getting them out sometimes. Such a fun time that first one!
I wouldn’t worry too much about the adult teeth coming in right behind the others. That happened to me as a child and as soon as the baby teeth fell out my others moved forward. Everything straightened out pretty quickly on it’s own.
I, oh I mean the tooth fairy, leaves one gold dollar coin, which my son is thrilled with since it looks “special”.
I’m wondering if there is a university nearby with a dental school. My friend just graduated from dental school and I know they often have free pediatric clinics or very affordable check-ups.
The tooth fairy left $1 for my children (when she remembered, ha). If she hasn’t seen a dentist, however, I would take her in for a check up. I didn’t take my son to the dentist until he was around 5, and he ended up needing $1500 worth of dental work. Deep grooves=cavities, even if one does watch sugar intake and brush regularly!
I don’t have little ones, but have just been researching fun kid gifts, and came across the CUTEST tooth fairy kit from a place called Notion Farm (check it out here: http://bit.ly/4k0fFF). (And P.S. Not trying to just shamelessly plug myself; this little kit is seriously the yummiest thing I’ve ever seen and I had to chime in. I give it to all my friends at baby showers…)
Best of luck of with the adult teeth and the dentist. You’re right; it’s a huge rite of passage. Hope all goes well.
I give them a couple of dollars.But what made it special is i put it in a treasure chest (from Michela’s, painted and decorated).
I always got a silver dollar as a kid. Like Vicki, the magic was not in the monetary value, but in the fact that I got something special that you didn’t normally see on the street. Somehow that dollar was worth more than a bill. The same was true for the Susan B Anthony dollars and the $2 bills that I got for selling cans to the recycling man. I never spent them…I just hung on to them in a special bank.
Sorry, I mean Michaels. I also found some little pillows and my kids use it as pillow for their tooth.
Oh how exciting! The Tooth Fairy made her debut in our house on Sunday night and Amelia was really excited to get her first dollar. The going rate in our house is a buck a tooth. However, a word to the wise, be sure to explain that the tooth fairy (as does Santa and the Easter Bunny) understands that little girls need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and has magical sense of timing to come when the kid is fast asleep. The tooth fairy has never passed over a house on the account of bathroom visits. Now for kids of immigrants, that is another story, as you well told!
oh, one more thing…I have heard of adult teeth coming in before baby teeth fall out. My sister’s stepdaughter had this happen, many times. And my sister would try to loosen those baby teeth up as to not damage her permanent teeth placement. Otherwise, I think you might find that the dentist pulling a tooth is a LOT cheaper than braces in the long run. Food for thought.
my son had the “shark teeth” as well. my dentist said that it is very common and what happens is – the adult teeth usually come up under the baby teeth and this is what dissolves the root. when the adult teelth come up behind the baby teeth you have to work at loosening up the baby teeth because the root is not dissolving on its own. the dentist usually won’t pull the baby teeth unless they are showing no signs of falling out on there own. my son ended up having a few pulled and the root was still fully intact. the tongue does an amazing job at pushing those teeth into place, so don’t worry about a mouth full of craziness
i have been kinda fortunate because my kids have always wanted to keep there teeth so i never had to pay up, but with friends a $1 seems to be the norm (more with molars)
My mother (tooth fairy) left me collectible silver dollars. Big, heavy coins. I still have them to this day.
Hi Jenna!
I work as a dental assistant and what you described really IS very common, that is how the baby teeth come out, after all, the adult teeth come up and push them out. I’d say about 50% of kids have the experience of the adult teeth erupting behind their baby teeth, and about 50% of those kids end up needing the tooth extracted. Normally we do not charge as much for primary tooth extractions as we do for permanent, but that is totally at the dentist’s discretion since the two have the same ADA procedure code. But, like a previous poster wrote, it can make the adult teeth come in more crooked and may indicate a need for braces in a few years if the baby tooth does not come out soon. Primary teeth are supposed to behave as placeholders for the permanent ones, to help guide them into the right slot. I’d tell Mia to wiggle her loose tooth daily to help it come out, and the adult tooth will likely move into the proper position. Usually, we end up pulling primary teeth because the children are too timid to work them out themselves in time. It sounds like you have a motivated child on your hands so that shouldn’t be a problem!!
Hi Jenna!
My “tooth fairy” used to leave coins from different countries every time I lost a tooth! They didn’t have to be exotic countries, or coins of a high value, just different from the place that I grew up! So, for me, I guess I didn’t really care how much each lost tooth was worth, I just wanted to see which currency each lost tooth would bring! I thought that was a pretty neat idea, and I still have my collection of coins gathered from that phase in my life!
i received quarters for my teeth, and i had to have nearly all of my baby teeth pulled at the dentist because of what you are describing. my teeth just weren’t budging when they were supposed to.
my boyfriend’s daughters were visiting us over the summer, and one of them lost a tooth while they were here. i found a web site with directions for dollar bill origami, and i folded a butterfly up for her ($1). in the morning, she was confused because i guess her mom gives her $5 per tooth, and does NOT fold them like butterflies.
I personally had to get 13 (13..!!) baby teeth pulled when I was a youngster — they said my mouth was just too small & my babies weren’t leaving fast enough. Oy. It really is quite funny, how getting my teeth pulled was just par for the course — a very normal activity.
The tooth fairy usually left me a silver dollar, which I think is reasonable for today as well. What fancy pants kids get gifts in exchange for teeth these days..? Geez o’ petes.
My almost 7 year old still believes in the tooth fairy though she spaced out last week and forgot to pick up the tooth. The tooth fairy in our house leaves a gold dollar coin.
Our tooth fairy leaves one of the ‘presidential’ quarters (a different one each time) and with the first tooth left a coin collecting folder for them. Abbott thinks they’re magic because they come from the tooth fairy, and also enjoys having a little collection.
I’m sorry to say I don’t know about the dental question. There are a couple of kids in Cal’s preK class who have had teeth pulled by the dentist.
You’re not alone, Jenna. The tooth fairy didn’t leave this Chinese girl anything either and I woke up feeling so confused and hurt that she forgot me. All these “American” traditions were lost on my parents. Had it not been for my cousins, I’m convinced I would have never known about Santa or the Easter Bunny either. Oh well. At least now I will know different for my own kids. (BTW, “the tooth fairy leaves my cousins gold chocolate coins whenever they lose their teeth. Makes it easier on the parents.)
the tooth fairy often left a couple dollars in our house, which can be made much more special by swinging over to your local bank and trading in a couple bills for those $1 coins. it’s so much more exciting to find a big, fat gold coin under your pillow than a wrinkled up dollar bill.
as for the big teeth behind the baby teeth, dont sweat it. definitely check your kids mouths regularly to make sure they’re not letting baby teeth hang on too long but the teeth will settle into their proper spot.
The tooth fairy leaves $10 around these parts. We both got $1 and that was the 80′s.
$10 around these parts too. Usually two five dollar bills to make it easier. The “save half of what you earn” lesson is going on at the same time. It use to be “save for a rainy day” lesson. But every flipping time it rained a small voice asked if we could go to Toy R Us…now.
Thanks for everyone’s input – you guys are always a great source of information. I feel a bit better about those adult teeth, but will call the dentist her tooth doesn’t fall out soon
my daughter just has her first tooth coming in, so I don’t have any parenting advice to add. my parents, however, always gave a kennedy half dollar. like others pointed out, it wasn’t the value but the specialness that mattered. I still have all of them in my childhood treasure box.
with inflation, a dollar coin sounds just about right to me
also, I remember my adult teeth coming in behind the baby ones. I could stick the tip of my tongue in between and feel the tooth below and above. I never needed them pulled, but I did have braces. I didn’t think there was a link…
Hi there,
We used to leave our tooth in a glass of water next to the bed (I guess our tooth fairy was afraid of waking us up mid-plunder) and in the morning a 20 cent coin (Australia) had replaced it. Our molars would fetch about 50 cents.
These days, I hear of kids getting $10!! Crazy days. Keep it small and keep it special.
Email me your snail mail address and the tooth fairy will deliver something special for all of you!
Zekie will be getting my 50 cent pieces that I got from my parents when I was a child, I saved all of them.
When I was little, the tooth fairy left my coins under my pillow dusted with some “fairy dust” (AKA glitter). The fairy dust made such an impression on me I honestly can not recall the exact amount I got in coins! It goes to show it’s the special touch more than the dollar amount.
hah.. in korea, you just throw a tooth over the roof for good luck.
maybe your mom thought you threw yours.
Unha, that is funny. I lost all my baby teeth in Korea. I just remember my loose tooth slipping on a piece of kimchi and it fell out.
all my kid’s teeth fell off very late, it took each tooth ages to fall, and the new tooth coming out was alreay quit visible under.
After changing dentists a few years ago, the new one ( which is one of the top ones in my country ) explained that you shouldn’t pull the tooth out unless you can see that the new one is growing sideways. the new tooth will make room for itself once it’s out, and the old one will eventually fall off.
so…. after my poor oldest had a lot of her teeth pulled out, with the other 2 kids we waited- and they fell. as for braces- so far only the oldest ( who had hers pulled out ,needed them….so no conection to teeth growing crooked there… )
my youngest which is almost 12 just had another tooth fall this week- he still gets exited about it, but our tooth-fairy dipenses small gifts just for the 1st 1 or 2….:)
Hello!
One more comment about teeth – our dentist told us that teeth coming in behind baby teeth on the bottom is nothing to worry about, but on the top can lead to problems. My daughter had it happen on bottom first and then top. The bottom ones fell out eventually, but the top ones didn’t and her permanent teeth came in crooked. The dentist ended up pulling the top baby teeth. She is 13 now and just had braces put on her top teeth last month. Ugh. She probably would have had them anyway, but she does get to choose the color of the rubber bands each month – right now pink. Its a new generation – when I was a kid my friends tried to hide their braces as much as possible. Today they color coordinate them!
Hi!
Just read through a few of the responses….we also opted for the good ol’ Susan B. Anthony dollar coin…just a bit unusual, but doesn’t break the bank. Also, easy to acquire at the bank…..I suggest getting a quantity at a time so they’ll be handy to dole out at the appropriate times!
Jenna, i used to have the same problem with my baby teeth. They were too strong so the new ones would’ve been growing out but my baby teeth were still going strong. At least Mia’s tooth showed signs of loosening up!! Mine were as firmly rooted as trees, and I had to endure a few very painful trips to the dentist to get them pulled out. But after the first few ones the others started to loosen up on their own, and I never had to go to the dentist to get any tooth pulled out anymore. Or so I thought, and then I had to remove my wisdom teeth.