What did you do with your baby teeth?

[heifeng]

***warning**extremely***random***thread***

Hi, so I was chatting with a Chinese friend about the concept of the tooth fairy, getting money under the pillow, etc. He mentioned how when he was a kid (at least his grandfather told him to do this) they were suppose to throw their bottom teeth some where very high up, and their upper baby teeth into a deep hole or something for good luck.

This sounded very random, but was a very entertaining story. So now I am wondering what other people in China (but not ONLY China) do with their baby teeth after they fall out.

I just did the tooth fairy route, but just never cashed in my wisdom teeth, don't know what I did with those...but those aren't technically baby teeth anyway:mrgreen:

[Lu]

Put them in a little box. It must still be somewhere in my parents' house. I also had the tooth fairy option, but was told that I could not both cash my teeth in and keep them in the little box.

[Shadowdh]

Toothfairy in the UK, Aust and NZ too... although our kids have a little box they put them in and then the Toothfairy takes the tooth (to grind up into fairy dust didnt you know) and places money into the box...

[Quest]

I did exactly what heifeng's friend said. I still remember where some of them went, although my birth place is all destroyed now... there's no way to ever find them again. how long does it take for a tooth to decompose?

[imron]

I have still have my removed wisdom teeth in a little container back home in Australia. The tooth fairy got all the baby ones.

[muyongshi]

Wisdom teeth? I'd have to ask the dentist what he did with them....

Baby teeth did the whole pillow and get money thing and I'm sure my parents then just threw them away and I don't blame them...

[owshawng]

Did the tooth fairy for the baby teeth.

Wisdom teeth kept them in an old prescription bottle. My wife freaked out when she found them. She still thinks its pretty gross. I keep telling her that I can't get rid of them. I used to be very attached to them.

[shanghaikai]

My d@mn oral surgeon wouldn't give me my wisdom teeth! B@stard said he threw them away already.

I want to say I must've tried the tooth fairy concept but I can't really be certain if I did. I do think I ended up hoarding most of my baby teeth for awhile but they've been misplaced or lost over the years. I was an unlucky child in that my teeth never fell out on their own and I had to get nearly all of them yanked by a dentist (none of that string and door crap for me nosiree!). I remember being fascinated with examining the nooks and cranies of my teeth with a pin or needle or something.

Yeah, random thread.

[gougou]

I did the tooth fairy thing (except that in France it's a mouse). She didn't bring money, though, but little gifts like books - in return, she let me keep the teeth. They're probably still in their little box somewhere in my room in Germany.

[fireball9261]

I grew up in Taiwan, and I did the traditional Chinese way. Throw the bottom tooth up onto the roof of my old home, and throw the upper tooth down below my old home's foundation area. This action is supposed to encourage your teeth to grow straight - like being pulled by the thrown tooth.

[heifeng]

wow, thanks for everyone's responses. Now I know my friend wasn't pulling my leg or something. I also like the French 'tradition', lil' mouse is it? good stuff!

[Lu]

This action is supposed to encourage your teeth to grow straight - like being pulled by the thrown tooth.

I love it how Chinese superstitions and traditions often have such practical reasons attached to them. The tooth fairy is just a story, but this Chinese tradition is not just 'for luck' or something, but to let your teeth grow straight!

[heifeng]

for the life of me I can't find that thread about 'having the same conversation in China'...I even searched 'bears'...anyway, I vote to make this the conversational topic for the next week. You're in the cab, you're in the elevator, go ahead and ask this question and report back what people say. In the process you can make up a kid brother or something and probably talk to that person about their kids and avoid the same conversation dilemma

Yeah, that making teeth grow straight part is quite interesting. I might have to do a google search....ok did it and found a few articles 1, 2, 3.

[gougou]

for the life of me I can't find that thread about 'having the same conversation in China

Here you go. Feel free to go on in here though - couldn't possibly get much more random

[fireball9261]

Thanks to Heifeng's link. Now I remembered that I did threw my upper teeth into the bottom of my bed. I think I also threw some of them under our old Japanese house's floor -- The Japanese house is raised from the ground, so there is a space under the floor of the house and above the ground.

The way to throw the tooth must be standing straight with feet close together. You have to stand facing away from the house and throw the bottom tooth forward and up and over the head towards the roof and throw the upper tooth under hand into the bottom of the bed or below the house floor. Your body must be straight when you do it. I always did it perfectly, so my teeth are pretty straight.

[heifeng]

bump. Bring on the randomness!