There’s a dentist in Seattle who acts like a real-life Tooth Fairy. Dr. Purva Merchant may not visit children’s houses when they’re sleeping to secret away their lost teeth, but she responds to emails sent by worried parents and kids alike to her Tooth-Fairy-inspired email address—and has done so more than 6,000 times in twenty years, according to a recent New York Times article.
A regular New York Times subscriber, I stumbled across Dr. Merchant’s story in my NYT digest one evening. And as the author of a Tooth-Fairy-themed children’s book, I of course clicked and read it immediately.
Dr. Purva Merchant in her Seattle office. She sometimes responds to emails as the Tooth Fairy in between patients.
What charmed me about Dr. Merchant’s “vocation” (which is what I think of her work as, since it goes far beyond that of a regular dentist’s calling!) is how her email system encourages children to read and write, just as my book Under My Pillow does. In Under My Pillow, the main character Sam, writes a letter to the Tooth Fairy when her first lost tooth goes missing, and the Tooth Fairy, much like Dr. Merchant, writes back to her! Thought questions and suggested activities at the end of the book encourage young readers to consider writing their own letters to the Tooth Fairy.
Why this is so important, of course, is that reading and writing help kids develop basic language skills and expand their vocabularies: two crucial skills in today’s communication-forward world. Letter-writing, especially by hand, helps children develop important cognitive skills. Research suggests that handwriting engages brain regions involved in attention, memory, language, and executive functioning, encouraging kids to slow down, organize their thoughts, and process information more deeply than they often do when typing.
Reading letters from the Tooth Fairy helps kids develop basic language skills and expand their vocabularies.
More than these important hard skills, however, writing letters to and reading letters from the Tooth Fairy also encourage imagination. And imagination, plus its corollaries belief and magic, help kids navigate the world. As reported by Kids Health, imaginative play fosters self-control and helps kids process difficult or overwhelming emotions.
That’s what elevates Dr. Merchant’s “real-life Tooth Fairy” role from something merely cute or silly to something powerful, even profound. She’s shaping the next generation of empathetic critical thinkers—exactly like the best children’s books do.
While I may only dress like the Tooth Fairy at author events, I’m proud to serve as her official literary assistant! If you or your little one would like to send a note after reading Under My Pillow, I’ll make sure it reaches the Tooth Fairy–and I’m always happy to help make sure a little magic finds its way back to you. You can find me on Instagram at @jenballow or write to me directly at jennifer@jenniferballowauthor.com.
Warmly,
Jennifer
Proudly serving as the Tooth Fairy’s spokesperson & literary assistant! 😉
