The Economy of the Tooth-fairy

For those of you that are tooth fairy fans, I thought you might find this information interesting.  Guess what, the tooth fairy left an estimated 255 million dollars underneath pillows in 2013.  A recent survey, “The Original Tooth Fairy Poll,” has found that tooth fairies' average gift amount has hit a record high, averaging $4.36 per tooth in 2014.  That is up 25% from $2.50 in 2013.  Obviously reflecting a change in our economy.  The poll surveyed 1000 parents and found that in 40% of homes the tooth fairy was more generous if it was the first tooth that had been lost, leaving an average of $5.74 for the first tooth, a 27% increase from 2013.  The survey reported that in US homes the tooth fairy visited 81% of homes with children who lost a tooth, and that in 88% of those homes, cash was left for children either by itself or in combination with other gifts.  Kids who received gifts most often got a toothbrush, toothpaste or dental floss.  As for the reasons behind determining how much is left for each child, 44% of parents reported it was the amount of spare cash they had on hand while 39% based the amount on the child’s age.  By the way, not to be too political but if you feel that your government may be coming too intrusive, you might be interested to know that if your child comes in to our office or any other dental office with a permanent tooth eruption problem in which we have to remove a baby tooth, in order for us to give your child their baby tooth for the tooth fairy, Congress had to pass a specific law allowing us to give your child the extracted tooth, as the new EPA requirements no longer allow medical care providers to give their patient's bio-hazard materials that have been removed (gall stones, etc.) and this includes baby teeth.  Fortunately Congress in their “wisdom” is allowing us to give the child back their baby teeth.  If you want more information about poll results you can go to http://www.theoriginaltoothfairypoll.com and get more information.