The Great Read: The Tooth Fairy Is Real. She’s a Dentist in Seattle.
For 20 years, Dr. Purva Merchant has been answering letters from gaptoothed children and their parents — roughly 6,000 in all. “Happy growing up,” she typically replies.
The New York Times
The Great Read

July 14, 2025, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

An illustration of a woman with the background split into two halves. On the right side the woman is dressed in scrubs at a dentist’s office, and on the left side she is in a tooth fairy outfit in a child's room.

Su Yun Song

The Tooth Fairy Is Real. She’s a Dentist in Seattle.

For 20 years, Dr. Purva Merchant has been answering letters from gaptoothed children and their parents — roughly 6,000 in all. “Happy growing up,” she typically replies.

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