WHAT IS A TOOTH SCIENTIST?

WHY IS A TOOTH SCIENTIST INTERESTED IN ME?

If you are like Sam, a Tooth Scientist might want the Dentist to count how many of your Toothys are Wonky. Or if you are like PJ and get your Toothy Wiggled Out, the Tooth Scientists might ask if they can look at Toothy with their Special Machines. And if you decide to send your Toothy to the Tooth Scientists, we will help you tell the Tooth Fairy what has happened.

When you are young it is quite tricky to understand the things that Scientists do. But it still can be great fun to look at the weird and wonderful pictures that Scientists make. Older Kids find it easy to understand Sciencey Things. So for them we have put some more Cool Pictures and Trickier Stuff about "How Scientists Learn About Dodgy Teeth" and "Understanding Tooth Fairies" in another place.

WHAT DO SCIENTISTS DO?

It is easy to understand why Science is so great when you think about what people do with Science. If there was no Science, then there would be no computers or internet or mobile phones or jet planes or just about every other cool technology you can think of. And most medicines used to fix sick people, and sick pets too, would not exist. And we would not understand strange things about the amazing world we live in – like why do waterfalls flow down, and why do hot air balloons float up?

A Scientist's job is partly like being a Car Mechanic or a Dentist. Scientists use Special Machines to look at what's good and what's bad, and they ask Lots and Lots of Questions. But instead of doing a repair job, they do lots of thinking and trying out (this is called "Doing Experiments"), hoping they can make something new and better. There are many different sorts of Scientist. And luckily, some of them are trying hard to make things better for Kids With Wonky Teeth.

WHAT DO TOOTH SCIENTISTS DO?

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We guess you have already figured out that Tooth Scientists are people who do Science on Teeth!

Although Tooth Scientists do many different things, one of their favourites is to try and help Kids with Wonky Teeth. They hope they can invent things that will help Dentists look after Potholes better. And they really wish that one day they can learn how to make the Pothole Problem go away. Wouldn't it be great if there were no Chalky Molars to fuss about?

One way Tooth Scientists learn about Chalky Molars is to do "Lots Of Counting". This lets them discover how many kids are like PJ, and how many Sams there are. Then they can figure out how many Hypomin Kids there are around the world, and think hard about what this might mean. To see a Cool Map of places where Chalky Molar Kids have been counted, click here (and look what happens when you click the coloured pins).

Another way to learn about Chalky Molars is to do "Lots Of Looking" with Special Machines. Some of the machines are called Microscopes. They work like Magnifying Glasses to make small things really big. Other machines grind the teeth into thin slices or dust, and then make pictures of their ingredients. All these Experiments let Scientists see what is different about Chalky Teeth. On the Right you can see three different pictures made with Normal and Wonky Teeth. If you want to see the Special Machine that made the picture, and the Tooth Scientist that used the machine, then click on each picture or use the link below.

Find all the Tooth Science Pictures here

HOW CAN KIDS HELP TOOTH SCIENTISTS?

Tooth Scientists are trying hard to help Chalky Molar Kids. So it is really nice when Chalky Molar Kids try and help the Tooth Scientists too. How cool would it be if a picture of your Toothy helped Scientists understand why teeth go Wonky sometimes? One day these pictures might help other Chalky Molar Kids all around the world!

There are two ways you can help out. If the Dentist wants you to be part of "Lots Of Counting" science, you may need to stay a bit longer while all the looking and questions are done. This is pretty easy though. It might not be so easy to decide what to do if the Dentist is going to Wiggle Out your Toothy. If the Tooth Scientist is interested in "Lots Of Looking" at it, you might worry about what would happen with the Tooth Fairy if you give Toothy away? Luckily there is no need to worry about this, as we explain in the Next Section.

If you decide to help the Tooth Scientists there will be some Paperwork for your family to fill in. While this might seem a bit boring, it is very important for the Tooth Scientists and your Dentist because these are Good Rules that they like to follow.

HOW TO TELL THE TOOTH FAIRY ABOUT YOUR TOOTHY

After your Toothy has been Wiggled Out, you can ask your Dentist to tell the Tooth Fairy about why the Tooth Scientists want your Toothy. Or, if you want to do this yourself, you can print out our Special Tooth Fairy Letter and leave it beside your bed. Then, if the Tooth Fairy normally visits your family and leaves a small reward, you can expect that, with any luck, she will still come this time and leave the usual treat. Fingers crossed!

Contact a Tooth Fairy

MORE ABOUT FAIRIES AND OTHER SPECIAL TOOTH COLLECTORS

petitesourisWhile you may know the story about how Tooth Fairies collect teeth from Under Your Pillow, in some other parts of The World this job is done by other Special Tooth Collectors. In France for example, the job is done by a Small Mouse called "La Petite Souris", and in Spanish Countries it's done by another Tooth Mouse called "Raton Perez".

What say the Tooth Fairy and the Tooth Mouse both wanted the same Toothy? Well someone has written a Fun Story about this and it has a really Happy Ending!

Here are some places where you can find More Interesting Things about the Tooth Fairy.

FUN PLACES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENCE

If you found our stories about Tooth Science interesting, here are some places where you can learn More Fun Things about Science.