  We discuss the generation of small neutrino masses from effective operators
higher than dimension five, which open new possibilities for low scale see-saw
mechanisms. In order to forbid the radiative generation of neutrino mass by
lower dimensional operators, extra fields are required, which are charged under
a new symmetry. We discuss this mechanism in the framework of a two Higgs
doublet model. We demonstrate that the tree level generation of neutrino mass
from higher dimensional operators often leads to inverse see-saw scenarios in
which small lepton number violating terms are naturally suppressed by the new
physics scale. Furthermore, we systematically discuss tree level
generalizations of the standard see-saw scenarios from higher dimensional
operators. Finally, we point out that higher dimensional operators can also be
generated at the loop level. In this case, we obtain the TeV scale as new
physics scale even with order one couplings.
