The tooth fairy’s puppet, Bandit, helps kids such as Vayda learn the proper way to brush teeth, with little circles and not too much pressure.
Maybe its the tooth-shaped purse that gives her away. Of course, the sparkly tiara and shoes are a big tip-off, too. But, its the tooth fairys wings that send the kids straight to we believe land.
Can you show us how you fly? they always ask when the first source of childhood cash comes to share her dental wisdom with central Pennsylvania preschoolers.
Who knew the tooth fairy had a day job?
For the last three years, Heather Lentz, 35, a part-time dental hygienist with Kearns and Ashby, has glittered up, strapped on her wings and packed her tooth purse with dental instruments to give kid-friendly dental lessons to midstate day cares, preschools and elementary schools.
Much to the childrens dismay, Lentz has to reveal that she drives to her daylight gigs.
I can only fly at night using special fairy dust. It shrinks me up really little. I tell them I have to drive a car like everyone else during the day, she said.
Its not often that a child gets to quiz a legendary fairy, and they dont waste a second.
They always have a million questions. Why cant we see you fly? Whats in your purse? What do you do with our teeth? Can I see your wings? Lentz said. They want to hug me and have their picture taken. Its a very feel-good job.
What does the tooth fairy do with all those teeth?
I love teeth. I use them to make necklaces and earrings, she revealed. Sometimes, I have so many, I glue them on the wall so I can look at them.
She has a very discerning eye for quality enamel, too.
My No. 1 rule is that I dont take dirty teeth, she said. They have to be clean and sparkling or Im not going to leave money.
Although no ones certain, the tooth fairy is probably based on an 18th-century tooth mouse from a French fairy tale. Every society has evolved its own rituals for disposing of lost teeth, but the late Rosemary Wells, who turned her Illinois home into a tooth fairy museum, found mentions of tooth fairies in America around 1900. The modern day tradition involving money seems to have become popular after World War II, according to folklorist Tad Tuleja.
Since every family has its own twist on that tradition, Lentz is a master of explanation. Most people leave between $1 to $5 a tooth. Some leave presents; Lentz has heard the extreme of $20 a tooth.
Tooth fairy Heather Lentz, a dental hygienist at Kearns and Ashby in Lower Paxton and Hampden townships, gets an assist from Ayla at Aa to Zz Child Care and Learning Center in Hummelstown in explaining that food with a lot of sugar, such as candy and soda, can harm teeth.
My answers have to be good for everyone. I tell them I get all of my money from rich people who donate to me, she said. The amount of donations vary, which determines how much she can leave. Sometimes the sheer number of teeth kids lose limit the fairys ability to leave a lot of cash. Sometimes if I run out of money, I leave a present.
In the end, its all about dental care. Lentz, the mother of three young children, picks a pint-size volunteer to dress as a dentist, everyone gets to see the dental implements, and kids learn the proper brushing method on the tooth fairys puppet, a dog named Bandit.
The kids love Bandit. You have to brush in little circles, she said. If you brush too hard back and forth, he spits water all over everybody. They crack up.
But most of all, they really want to touch this mysterious fairy who knows where they sleep. So much so, in fact, that the tooth fairy is clothes shopping again, having worn out quite a few sparkles in the last year.
When you have 60 kids at a time crawling all over you, you need quite a few outfit changes, she said.
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