Were you too preoccupied with winter’s nasty weather to observe National Tooth Fairy Day? We figured you might have been. In case you were wondering, it was Feb. 28, but you’ll get another chance come Aug. 22. It occurs twice a year.

A practical purpose for those particular days is to let them serve as reminders that as baby teeth fall out, it’s a good idea to start visiting your dentist in Staten Island to check up on the new permanent teeth. Oakwood Dental, with two Staten Island locations, recommends annual dental exams as children grow.

Of course, baby teeth don’t wiggle free on a predictable schedule, so the tooth fairy’s visit can be at almost any time, as opposed to certain days set aside on the calendar. Tradition calls for cash left under a youngster’s pillow. Most parents seem to feel $1 per tooth is adequate, although in some households the amounts have been increasing so that they’re averaging $4.

A credit-card company that releases an annual tooth-fairy payment survey around the time of the August observation advocates initiating a money-and-savings talk with a child. While we concur with the need for financial education, we do like the advice attributed to author Vicki Lansky, who suggests parents tell children that a perfect tooth fetches more than one that’s decayed.

After last year’s survey showed a somewhat controversial 23 percent increase in tooth-fairy generosity, a 65-year-old who told of losing teeth wondered in jest about age bias, saying he was bypassed. Tooth loss, though, for a senior who can normally expect many more good years is no laughing matter. There are restorative treatments and procedures that are very helpful, and your experienced dentist in Staten Island at Oakwood Dental welcomes such inquiries.