The real-life tooth fairy definitely isn’t sleepless, but she does live in Seattle.
Over 20 years ago, Dr. Purva Merchant created an email address that included the words “tooth fairy” in reference to her planned career as a dentist. As Merchant tells The New York Times, she then received an email from a parent who took a shot in the dark and randomly guessed her email address in an effort to prove to their concerned child that the tooth fairy really does exist.
Since then, Merchant has received up to five similar emails a day from parents or children hoping to hear back from the tooth fairy. Merchant says that she responds to every one as she encourages kids to brush and floss before signing off with “Happy growing up!”
If you have a child whose emotional state depends on the existence of the tooth fairy, Merchant isn’t giving out her full email address. But she acknowledges that, as proven by all the people who’ve messaged her over the last two decades, it isn’t that hard to figure out.
Still, Merchant feels that confirming the address might result in an overflowing inbox that makes it impossible to respond to each one. After all, her main goal is to “keep the magic alive.”