National Tooth Fairy Day by Social Dental Network

When Is National Tooth Fairy Day?

National Tooth Fairy Day is actually observed twice a year, on February 28th & again on August 22.

But why is the Tooth Fairy so special, and does she really deserve two entire days of national celebration?

If you’ve been a loyal reader of our blog then you’re already familiar with our take on this Tooth Fairy.

From running a global tooth trade syndicate to employing kid-friendly characters to do her dirty work, we believe the Tooth Fairy’s ultimate aim is to manipulate children out of their teeth – and parents out of their cash.

Let’s explore…



Who Is This Tooth Fairy?

According to NationalDayCalendar.org – the people who name & arrange these National Days of recognition – the Tooth Fairy character evolved with a group of healthcare fairies during the mid-1920s.

From bath fairies to Fairy Wand Tooth Whitener, kids were encouraged through a wave of advertisements and health classes to eat their veggies, brush their teeth and get fresh air.

OK, we see nothing wrong or insidious about that. She’s lobbying on behalf of optimal oral & overall health.

But let’s dig into the history a little more.

How The Tooth Fairy Came About

Again, according to National Day Calendar:

“In the mid-1920s fairies were used for all sorts of health education from bath fairies to fresh air fairies as a way to get kids to remember to eat their vegetables, wash behind their ears and get a good night’s rest.

“Like toothpaste, today that advertises fruity flavors and sparkles to get kids excited to brush their teeth, in 1925 it was probably quite a bit more difficult considering the pastes were mostly peroxide and baking soda.”

“One advertisement was for a Fairy Wand Tooth Whitener. This product promised to brush away cigarette and coffee stains.”

So kids were drinking coffee & smoking cigarettes in the 1920s?

Let’s go deeper still.

Following on the heels of the Fairy Wand Tooth Whitener in 1927, reportedly a playwright named Esther Watkins Arnold printed an eight-page playlet for children called The Tooth Fairy.

Coincidentally that play released the same year Sir Arthur Conan Doyle supposedly “proved” his claim that fairies and gnomes are real and “verified” with pictures of two little girls surrounded by fairies.

National Day Calendar has this to say about the effects of the Tooth Fairy play & the proclamation that fairies do actually exist:

“The world was ripe with imagination and primed to have a tooth fairy about to come collect the lost teeth of little boys and girls and leave a coin or two behind.”

How on Earth is that connection made?

Parents & kids alike were so enthralled at the idea of a fairy sneaking in their rooms at night to leave tokens of appreciation in exchange for their lost teeth?

Arnold’s play began to be performed in schools the following year, and the tooth fairy has been slipping into homes ever since.

She started leaving nickels and dimes under the pillows of sleeping children.



The History of National Tooth Fairy Day

So we can roughly trace this Tooth Fairy idea back to 1928, and conclude that she was created to help sell oral care products.

Again, nothing wrong with that.

We’re big fans of Tony the Tiger, Dig ‘Em, Toucan Sam & other advertising icons, but here’s the problem with the Tooth Fairy.

She was contrived to help sell a product, and now she’s fully circumvented that process to cut out the middleman and start taking cash – tax-free we might add – in exchange for her so-called tooth disposal services.

She has now taken this once small-time philanthropic startup advocating for optimal oral health and turned it into a multinational organized crime syndicate dealing in children’s teeth.

The Tooth Fairy Wants Your Children’s Teeth

Is the Tooth Fairy just a shill herself, for candy industry, or the soda, energy drink, and juice companies?

That’s an angle that we haven’t explored yet, but we look forward to engaging in some hardcore investigative journalism in the coming weeks & months.

We’ll revisit this conspiracy theory the next time National Tooth Fairy Day rolls around, in another six months.



With children’s tooth decay being the most common chronic childhood disease, it’s no wonder why this Tooth Fairy has proliferated for so long.

Maybe the next time your child gets a loose tooth, have a conversation with your kid about dental health, and maybe about who this so-called Tooth Fairy really is.

How To Observe National Tooth Fairy Days

We should all teach our kids about maintaining a diligent daily dental hygiene regimen, eating a healthy diet, and the importance of seeing the dentist twice a year, whether it’s National Tooth Fairy Day or not.

On National Tooth Fairy Days – every Feb 28th & Aug 22nd – we can continue to bring more awareness to dental health, and further examine the Tooth Fairy’s murky history by using the #NationalToothFairyDay hashtag on your chosen social media.

What do you think about the Tooth Fairy?

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