"I Saw the Tooth Fairy"

This is a great story taken from, "Chicken Soup for the Dental Soul."

I Saw the Tooth Fairy

Every child loves to share the loss of a first tooth with anybody who will listen- especially a dental hygienist who helps care for those teeth.

A little girl was having her teeth cleaned in my dental chair one day while her mother sat and watched. I was excited to see that my patient had lost her first tooth; it gave me a fun thing to talk about during the appointment.

I asked if the Tooth Fairy had come to visit after she lost her tooth. "Yes," my patient said, and told me she got a dollar since it was her first tooth. I made a big deal out of the dollar, but she interrupted to say there was more. "I know what the Tooth Fairy looks like," she announced in a very secretive voice.

Now I've worked with kids for years; they never talk about what the Tooth Fairy looks like, they mainly talk about what the Tooth Fairy leaves them- money. So I was curious as to what the little girl was going to say. "Tell me what the Tooth Fairy looks like," I asked.

She appeared to be eager to tell me but said she could only whisper the answer. I leaned over and put my ear close to he mouth while she breathlessly shared her secret.

"The Tooth Fairy looks kinda like my mommy- only naked!"

-Deborah Goldberg Polay, RDH