(Tooth Trolls; drawing by Thorbjørn Egner)
In the English-speaking tradition, there is the Tooth Fairy, who comes to collect children's teeth (and pays good money for them!). In the Scandinavian tradition, we have Tooth Trolls. I remember them from a book in my childhood; but when I check the facts now, I find that the original is Norwegian - created by Thorbjørn Egner. The trolls were called Karius and Bactus, and they lived in cavities in the teeth of a boy - thriving when he ate sweets and forgot to brush his teeth; but finally driven away by better dental hygiene.
What brought them to mind for me this week was another visit to the dentist (less than two months after my annual checkup in January, when they found nothing wrong). It happened at lunch on Sunday. Whether it was fairies or trolls at work, they didn't quite succeed: An old artificial tooth crown came loose, but I somehow managed to salvage it rather than swallow it. Phoned the dentist's on Monday morning and got an appointment for Tuesday. In the meantime, I kept a kind of half-fasting diet of soup and yoghurt + meticulous use of toothbrush... And as the dentist saw no evidence of trolls having moved in, he was able to put the crown back. Phew. (For how long this time, remains to be seen!)
Long gone are the days when teeth grew back of themselves and the tooth fairy left money behind for the ones she took away... Nevertheless, I have to say that on the whole, I'm rather thankful for the advances made in dental care since back in my childhood!
17 comments:
I had the same thing happen about a month ago. A caramel did me in. LOL--same here- he was able to just glue it back on and I hope it lasts another 20 years. lol
Oh I love your tooth troll stories and the illustration are wonderful. Having 4 children close together we had many visits from the Tooth Fairy. One story I will share. Our oldest girl was a pill and hated to brush her teeth. It was a struggle all the time to get her to do it. When a tooth came out and was put under her pillow, she was very surprised to have a acutal note from the Tooth Fairy. It explained that the tooth was not clean enought to go in the Fairies Treasure Box and she needed to brush it real good, and put it back under her pillow the next night. Sure enough, that little gal scrubbed that tiny tooth and it went back under the pillow...Whew...it was gone in the morning with a little money in it's place...it worked and after that, she was more faithful to brush! Sometimes a Mom just had to to what Mom's do! HaHa
The Tooth Trolls are awfully cute! Good thing you got an appointment so soon, and no other damage was done!
yes, normally crowns are quite easy to put back on again providing you look after your teeth, which it sounds like you do.
That was a blast from the past for me, Monica! At elementary school (we are talking between 1974 and 1978 here), we were shown a film with Karius und Baktus every year on one of the last days before the summer holidays! I remember how exciting it was to be allowed into the darkened "Filmraum" on the top floor of the school building, blinds drawn and lights down, and the sound the film rolls and projector made.
i think i prefer the fairy over the troll, they look a mite scary to me the fearful one. very interesting about the troll story. i have never heard of it before. glad you were able to retrieve your crown
I've had the same thing happen before, Diana - according to the dentist, even with the same tooth, six years ago... I've lost count myself! not even sure any more which of my teeth are real or 'fake' ;)
I like the reason behind the trolls visiting but think the Fairies are more profitable...haha.
Good thing you could keep your crown...a lot less costly for you.
Sweet story, Wanda... I did my best of brushing this tooth as well, before handing it over to the dentist to do his magic. But it was he who got the money! :)
HaHa, Wanda...I love your story about your daughter. Clever way to get her to brush.
Sue
Yes Ginny, those smiling tooth trolls look deceptively innocent... ;)
Amy, I do try...! :)
Oh, so Karius and Baktus went to Germany as well! I didn't know that! :)
Sandra, I wish we could still grow new teeth as adults as well! :) But as we can't, I guess one just has to be thankful that there are other solutions nowadays than to just pull out the broken ones!
It's obviously crown problem time. I've just traumatised an old crown by biting on something hard in my muesli. The dentist isn't sure yet if there is any damage. She can't see any but I have a review in a week or two.
Yes, those little things are as precious as jewels, even if one wouldn't think so just by looking at them... :)
Ouch. Somehow it feels extra unfair when one breaks a tooth on 'healthy' food, doesn't it... Did it actually stay in place or why can't they tell if there was any damage? Hope it goes well!
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