The average cash gift left by the Tooth Fairy has surged 379% from $1.30 to $6.23 per tooth. At this rate, in 2048, the Tooth Fairy would be leaving a whopping $30 under the pillow for a single tooth.
Delta Dental Tooth Fairy Report
I remember the tooth fairy leaving me 6 cents when I was three years old. A nickel and a penny were under my pillow, carefully wrapped in wax paper. 6 cents – I felt screwed.
So, while writing this article, I decided to see how much 6 cents is worth in today’s money. The answer? 76 cents. I was right; I got screwed.
In fact, by today’s standards, I should sue the Tooth Fairy and my parents. Why? Because inflation doesn’t just impact the cost of eggs or a college education. It also inflates the value of a child’s tooth.
That’s according to an annual poll by Delta Dental. According to Delta Dental, the average price of a tooth in the U.S. $6.23. That up from $5.36 in 2022 for a one-year increase of 16%.
Regionally, the South experienced the most significant increase. Teeth below the Mason-Dixon line go for $6.59. The conservative Midwest pays the least, $5.63. If I was a mid-western kid I would move.
So, in retrospect, I should have kept the tooth and invested in tooth futures. If I had kept that tooth from childhood, it would be worth 104 times what I received for it when I was three.
What did you get for your tooth when you were a child?
For our children it was one British Pound (and they are great as the coins are substantial). When my son was four and we were going to travel to see family in Germany he asked what the German tooth fairy would possibly pay. So we both called my sister on loudspeaker and she duely (when prompted so) said 2 Euros. My son said nothing then but on the drive just as we crossed the border to Germany he got busy wiggling away. He lost two teeth in the next few days and was very happy.