How Much Is That Tooth Under the Pillow: Going Rates for the Tooth Fairy

Fees Are Up, But You’ve Got Wiggle Room

If the last time you thought about how much the tooth fairy pays per tooth was when your own teeth were being brokered, prepare yourself for some mighty sticker shock, parent. Forget all about the shiny quarters that funded a healthy supply of corner store treats. Delta Dental’s Original Tooth Fairy Poll® reported a national average of $3.70 per tooth as of January 2019. Believe it or not, the going rates for the tooth fairy have actually decreased from $4.13 a year ago.

Delta Dental has been tracking tooth rates in the U.S. since 1998 and shows that tooth fairy rates are generally in line with the overall economy, according to the S&P 500 Index. The Poll digs deeper into going rates by tracking regional giving, first tooth comparisons, and other ways the tooth fairy impacts homes.

I Hear the Midwest Has Lovely Summers: Going Rates by Region

Kids in the West report the highest earnings at an average of $4.19 per tooth, while Midwest kids come in at $2.97 per tooth. The South and Northeast are just under $4.00. The first lost tooth tends to bring in nearly $5.00 on average, though many parents report starting with President Lincoln and increasing the cash with each tooth.

MarketWatch reached out to a few families to ask specifics, and they discovered many parents are paying as much as $20.00 for the first tooth and dropping to about $5.00 for the rest. Others started low with the first tooth and worked their way up to a comfortable cap.

Remember to study our 6 Simple Tooth Fairy Rules post before you set your going rates for the tooth fairy. You’ll want to talk to parents of your kids’ friends, and keep in mind that you need to plan for 20 teeth per kid in your family.

You Get What You Get, and You Don’t Get Upset

If you’ve become a parent anytime in the past decade, you’re no stranger to cultural sensitivity conversations. Parents regularly take to social media to ask advice on how to prevent their kids from comparing notes on birthday or holiday gifts in an effort to avoid feelings of jealousy or pride. With such wide variance in going rates for the tooth fairy, keeping kids humble can be a challenge.

One way to help your child navigate this financial windfall is to use the reward to teach the value of money. By discussing what the gift means and how to properly care for it, kids will focus less on the bling and more on the meaning.

Delta’s poll revealed that many parents use the tooth fairy to begin teaching good savings habits, and they also go beyond the gift to take the opportunity to stress good oral health and bedtime routines. By directing their attention to other aspects of this rite of passage, you can encourage a healthy attitude about the whole process.

The FlutterPop website is setting out to revolutionize the tooth fairy’s gift system by allowing parents to set up various accounts for depositing tooth rewards. Teach your kids the value of saving up for bigger ticket items from their online wish lists. Sign up for our mailing list to start gathering ideas now about how you can track going rates, and to help your kids stick to a budget and save for what they really want.

Need help navigating this new world of economics and growing up? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest trends and to get help from the hive mind of other parents. Sign up for our mailing list to track progress on FlutterPop  and all the breaking tooth fairy news!

Fees Are Up, But You’ve Got Wiggle Room

If the last time you thought about how much the tooth fairy pays per tooth was when your own teeth were being brokered, prepare yourself for some mighty sticker shock, parent. Forget all about the shiny quarters that funded a healthy supply of corner store treats. Delta Dental’s Original Tooth Fairy Poll® reported a national average of $3.70 per tooth as of January 2019. Believe it or not, the going rates for the tooth fairy have actually decreased from $4.13 a year ago.

Delta Dental has been tracking tooth rates in the U.S. since 1998 and shows that tooth fairy rates are generally in line with the overall economy, according to the S&P 500 Index. The Poll digs deeper into going rates by tracking regional giving, first tooth comparisons, and other ways the tooth fairy impacts homes.

I Hear the Midwest Has Lovely Summers: Going Rates by Region

Kids in the West report the highest earnings at an average of $4.19 per tooth, while Midwest kids come in at $2.97 per tooth. The South and Northeast are just under $4.00. The first lost tooth tends to bring in nearly $5.00 on average, though many parents report starting with President Lincoln and increasing the cash with each tooth.

MarketWatch reached out to a few families to ask specifics, and they discovered many parents are paying as much as $20.00 for the first tooth and dropping to about $5.00 for the rest. Others started low with the first tooth and worked their way up to a comfortable cap.

Remember to study our 6 Simple Tooth Fairy Rules post before you set your going rates for the tooth fairy. You’ll want to talk to parents of your kids’ friends, and keep in mind that you need to plan for 20 teeth per kid in your family.

You Get What You Get, and You Don’t Get Upset

If you’ve become a parent anytime in the past decade, you’re no stranger to cultural sensitivity conversations. Parents regularly take to social media to ask advice on how to prevent their kids from comparing notes on birthday or holiday gifts in an effort to avoid feelings of jealousy or pride. With such wide variance in going rates for the tooth fairy, keeping kids humble can be a challenge.

One way to help your child navigate this financial windfall is to use the reward to teach the value of money. By discussing what the gift means and how to properly care for it, kids will focus less on the bling and more on the meaning.

Delta’s poll revealed that many parents use the tooth fairy to begin teaching good savings habits, and they also go beyond the gift to take the opportunity to stress good oral health and bedtime routines. By directing their attention to other aspects of this rite of passage, you can encourage a healthy attitude about the whole process.

The FlutterPop website is setting out to revolutionize the tooth fairy’s gift system by allowing parents to set up various accounts for depositing tooth rewards. Teach your kids the value of saving up for bigger ticket items from their online wish lists. Sign up for our mailing list to start gathering ideas now about how you can track going rates, and to help your kids stick to a budget and save for what they really want.

Need help navigating this new world of economics and growing up? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest trends and to get help from the hive mind of other parents. Sign up for our mailing list to track progress on the FlutterPop website and all the breaking tooth fairy news!