Older children should take heed of this simple life lesson: You don’t have to brush your teeth — just the ones you want to keep. That’s good advice, whether you are a youngster or an adult.

Younger children, however, know that losing a tooth can be a pretty lucrative business.

They lose a baby tooth and the tooth fairy flies right into their rooms in the middle of the night, collects the tooth and leaves them money for their trouble.

Losing a tooth can be scary, but even a child will have to admit the anticipation can be way more frightening than the actual event.

Most cultures have viewed the loss of baby teeth for permanent ones as a rite of passage. A child normally has 20 baby teeth and starts losing them about the age of 5 or 6.

Ancient superstitions advise not to allow baby teeth to be found by witches, who could use any shed part of the body, such as hair and nail clippings, to make curses on the poor unsuspecting child.

Sometimes, the teeth were fed to an animal, usually a mouse, to ensure the child grew strong, sharp teeth.

The tooth fairy didn’t make her appearance in modern-day culture until the early 1900s. Considered a “good fairy,” she slowly grew in popularity over the next few decades.

No one knows what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth. Maybe she uses them as building blocks to add more rooms to her castle, or perhaps she uses them like currency with other fairies.

I made this box out of a large matchbox that has a “tooth compartment” where children can safely tuck away their treasures. I found the instructions at http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/tooth-fairy-box-670436.

Supplies you will need:

1 large empty kitchen matchbox

Several sheets of colored felt — enough to wrap the box and line the inner tray

Tacky glue

Ribbon

Thin red pen or marker

Black and red fabric paint

Scissors

Pull the inner tray out of the box and line the inside with glue and felt.

Wrap the outside of the box with felt and glue it in place.

Glue a 20-inch ribbon to the outside of the box to make a hanging loop.

Fold a 4-inch ribbon in half and glue it to the bottom of the inner tray to create a handle for sliding it in and out.

Draw a tooth shape on paper, cut it out, and trace it onto white felt twice. Cut out the teeth.

Use fabric paint to decorate the teeth with eyes and a mouth.

Glue one tooth to the outside of the box.

Create a tooth pocket by applying glue to the sides and bottom of the remaining tooth as shown, leaving an opening at the top.

Glue the pocket to the inside tray.