ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — Her real name is Lori Wilson, but most people know her as the Tooth Fairy.

“I love being the tooth fairy,” she said. “I’ve been doing it for over 20 years.”

In her costume persona, she spreads a message that’s a combination of a love for reading and dental hygiene. 

“I go everywhere, the children’s museum, birthday parties, wherever they want me to go,” said Wilson who had a career as a pediatric dental assistant and teaches others how to do the job. “It all started when I was a little girl, and my cousin took me to work with her one day and she was the county hygienist for Alamance County.” 

Wilson was destined to become the tooth fairy.   

“I believe this is my gift, that God gave me this gift of working with children and just making them feel loved.” 

Her experiences led her to become a children’s book author.  

“My first book, ‘Tooth Fairy in Disguise’ is about the tooth fairy getting very sad because she started collecting a lot of teeth with a lot of cavities,” said Wilson who believes she and the character in the book have a lot in common. “The tooth fairy living a double life, she’s a fairy at night and dental assistant during the day.”

Wilson hopes the book will leave a lasting impression.  

“My goal is for this book to be full of love and promotes literacy and love of reading,” she said. “I’m just hoping to inspire children to use their imagination to dream big and to love to read books like I did when I was a little girl.”

To learn more about Lori and her book visit the ‘Tooth Fairy in Disguise’ website