The French child puts his/her baby tooth under the pillow when he/she goes to bed. The fairy takes it while he/she is asleep, and replaces it with a present instead of money. The present that is left is a toy car or something little like that.

One tradition in England held that if a child’s tooth fell out, that child must drop it into a fire, to avoid having to look for it after death, and this may be the origin of the importance of a lost tooth. This tale was handed down during the Middle Ages to smaller children during the teething stage.

The addition of fire into the story may have conjured up images of witchcraft. Suspected witches were often burned, because people believed money appeared after they threw articles into fire. From this myth comes the importance of keeping a tooth. When a witch burned a piece of hair, clothing or teeth from a person, she supposedly obtained power over them. Parents may have prompted children into keeping teeth or burning the teeth themselves in order to keep themselves free of demon possession.

The other reason for this ritual was the superstition that if a witch got a hold of the tooth, a curse could be placed on the child. By burying their children’s teeth, this unfortunate curse was prevented from happening.

As people migrated to America, many of the same beliefs and superstitions followed them. However, since most of the people now found themselves living in towns and cities, bare land wasn’t as plentiful. They began placing the teeth in small flowerpots, or planter boxes. Eventually this rite too changed, and the fallen out tooth was placed under a child’s pillow, where the tooth fairy switched the tooth (always in the middle of the night) for a treat or money.

In Austria, you either make the baby tooth into a pendant head, a key ring, or throw the upper tooth under the house and the lower tooth over the roof.

The reward left varies by country, the family’s economic status, amounts the child’s peers report receiving and other factors. A 2011 study found that American children receive $2.60 per tooth on average.

In early Europe, it was a tradition to bury baby teeth that fell out. When a child’s sixth tooth falls out, it is a custom for the tooth fairy to slip a gift or money under the child’s pillow, but to leave the tooth as a reward. Some children would wake up to trails of glitter on the floor, representing fairy dust!

Children in Botswana throw their tooth on the roof and then ask the moon to bring them a new tooth

Children in Nigeria have an interesting tradition.  If you’re a boy, you hold your tooth and eight stones in your fist.  Girls hold six stones and their tooth in their fist.  The child then closes their eyes, states their name, and counts to the number in the fist.  They then say, “Oh, I want my tooth back!” Next, they throw everything in their fist up in the air and run away as fast as they can.

Some kids in India throw their tooth on the roof and ask a sparrow to bring them a new tooth.  Other children in India throw their tooth at the sun, hoping for a bright adult tooth in return.

Egyptian children wrap their teeth in a tissue and take it outside.  They throw their tooth at the sun, asking the son to take their buffalo tooth and give them a bride’s tooth.  This is similar to most children in middle-eastern countries, who throw their tooth at the sun, hoping that it will give them back a tooth to make their smile brighter!

In addition to el hada de los dientes (Spanish language: the tooth fairy), Hispanic culture also has a mouse.The Ratoncito Pérez (or Ratón Pérez) is a figure popular in Spanish and Hispanic American cultures, similar to the tooth fairy, originating in Madrid in 1894. As is traditional in some English-speaking countries, when a child loses a tooth it is customary for him or her to place it under the pillow, so that Ratoncito Pérez will exchange it for a gift. The tradition is similar for some other spanish speakers: in some regions of Mexico, Peru and Chile, he is called “el Ratón de los Dientes”, and in Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Colombia, he is known simply as “El Ratón Pérez”.

For parents in the United States, children loose their baby teeth and are paid a visit by the tooth fairy. The child places the tooth under his or her pillow before going to sleep at night and the tooth fairy takes the tooth away, leaving money or a small gift in its place. You can even find special tooth pouches in stores for keeping teeth safe under the pillow at night.

 In France, children place teeth under their pillows for La Petite Souris (the little mouse) to come and take it away in the night.

 Mexican children also leave their tooth for a small mouse to take away. As in the US, children receive money or gifts in exchange.

 Similarly, in Slovenia, the mouse replaces the baby tooth with a piece of candy.

Turkey: In Turkey, parents bury their children’s teeth in a location that might benefit the child’s future. For instance, if the parents want their child to grow up to be doctor they will bury the teeth on the hospital grounds. If they want their child to become a college graduate they will bury the tooth in the college garden.

Costa Rica: In Costa Rica, the lost tooth is plated in gold and made into an earring

Chile: In Chile, the lost tooth is made into a charm and set in precious metal to be used as a necklace or an earring

In some cultures, baby teeth are preserved by parents or even made into jewelry such as charm bracelets or pendents that can be kept. Baby teeth are symbols of childhood and preserving them, a way of creating a unique keepsake for the child.

In some countries, the tooth is preserved as a memorial to the passage of childhood.

Here are a few traditions from South East Asia:

Children in Cambodia toss their lower teeth on the roof and bury their upper teeth in the ground. They hope that the new teeth will grow towards the old teeth and be straight.

In Japan, upper teeth are thrown under the house, while lower teeth are thrown up on the roof. This is a way of ensuring that lower teeth grow up straight and upper teeth grow down straight.

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 mice’s teeth go on growing for their whole life.

Korea

Children in Korea throw their tooth on the roof of their house and sing, “Blackbird, blackbird, my old tooth I give to you.  Bring me a new tooth.”