Losing Teeth

In answer to this question: "My daughter has a lose tooth. It's going to fall out. We've discussed the tooth fairy but I don't remember much else from when I was a kid. Do I have to worry about her swallowing it? What happens if it starts to bleed?"

To get a detailed history of the tooth fairy you can take a look at the wikipedia article at:  Tooth Fairy.

Regarding your child's tooth it is quite common for teeth to have a little blood when they finally fall out, don't force the tooth out early just let your child determine the rate of exit (unless it is really on it very very last bit ;) ).  The gum area is a very fast healing part of everyones body (unless you have some kind of rare condition) so if it bleeds a bit don't be too worried as it should stop very quickly.

A swallowed tooth can be a bit troubling but is quite rare as most kids will work the tooth lose themselves with a watchful tongue.  If it is swallowed it should not be a major concern due to the small size (relative to the food your child eats) but if your child complains of pains after definitely swallowing the tooth then its best to check with a doctor.

The tooth fairy has some wonderful memories for me and I would really recommend that you consider having a tooth fairy type myth/game in your own house (see the Wikipedia article for details and ideas)... of course this means you need to remember the tooth gift on the night in question...

If you want to make sure the tooth fairy remembers to visit and your child gets a coin or other gift from their lost tooth there are a few techniques which can help you remember to support the fairy myth :)

• a special china dish or glass of water can be the place the tooth is left instead of under your child's pillow where the tooth may be out of sight and out of mind,
• get your child to write a note to the tooth fairy and put it on the bedroom door to remind her to come and visit
• if you are caught reaching under your child's pillow just say "I was checking whether the tooth fairy had been yet..." then do a quick switch for the coin to finish up with a positive surprise
• perhaps if the tooth fairy fails to "remember" to come by you can write a message to your daughter from the tooth fairy explaining "I came by for your tooth but tripped on the toys that were left around and could not make it to the bed" - this helps re-inforce a tidy room for easy tooth fairy access (assuming your daughter's room is not cleared up of course! )
• if the tooth is lost do not despair just state that the tooth fairy will gladly accept a "bean" or small replacement item if it was clear that a tooth was due to be collected

Hope this helps and good luck with the rest of the teeth !