Leaving out your children’s baby teeth for the Tooth Fairy is an adorable tradition. It can change tooth loss from something that might be frightening to kids into a fun, memorable experience, in which they even get a bit of cash…
— from an email sent by Affordable Dentures & Implants
According to an email received by the Daily Post editor last week, the folks at Affordable Dentures & Implants decided to investigate how much children are raking in for baby teeth left for the Tooth Fairy… and also, how much the parents remember getting for their own teeth when they were growing up.
The company sent out a survey to 4,000 Americans across the country and — crunching the numbers — discovered some interesting differences between states, regions and age groups.
According to the data, the most common Tooth Fairy reward for a baby tooth — as parents recalled from their own childhood — was $1.00, although about a quarter of the respondents remembered getting 50 cents.
Some parents, however, recalled a yield as high as $3.00 or even $5.00, causing the “average” come out to about $2.85.
If that seems extravagant, hold on to your seat, because the average current rate in the U.S. is now approaching $4.60.
Kids nowadays typically get either $1 (26% of kids) or $5 (also 26% of kids). About 10% get $2, and 7% get a whopping $10 per tooth.
Oddly enough, 7% reported that the Tooth Fairy gives nothing at all these days.
The numbers suggest that the Tooth Fairy is now handing out an average of $92 for a full set of baby teeth — 20 teeth — which is about twice what an average set brought when the parents were children.
This can be viewed as evidence of the changing value of the dollar over the years. And of inflation.
According to Affordable Dentures & Implants, some studies have shown that today’s children start to lose their belief in the Tooth Fairy between the ages of 5 and 7. This is somewhat disconcerting because children lose their first baby teeth between the ages of 5 and 7.
Basically, kids are getting money from an imaginary character they don’t believe in. No wonder American politics is going to hell.
I blame social media for the sad state of our society. I’m personally thankful that I raised my kids before smart phones arrived. (Kids now get their first smart phone between the ages of 5 and 7.)
When choosing how to give the money, most American kids receive cash (86%). 4% get a gift instead. 3% find an ‘IOU’ note under the pillow, and 1% are paid in Bitcoin.
According to Affordable Dentures & Implants:
On average, 5% of people said they do not agree with the Tooth Fairy — a very low percentage which just goes to show how popular the tradition remains today.
The survey also pointed out interesting regional differences. The average paid out in Colorado, for example, was $4.25 per tooth.
Kids in Oregon get the least: $1.96 per tooth, on average. Hardly makes it worthwhile to lose your teeth.
On the other hand, kids living in Washington DC clean up, with an average profit of $5.88 per tooth. I found it interesting that the second highest-profit state — at $5.80 — was Mississippi, considering they land at the bottom of almost every economic list I’ve ever seen.
Tooth loss produces a negative cash flow as people get older. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 17% of adults aged 65 or older have lost all of their teeth, and have received nothing from the Tooth Fairy.
Learn more at https://www.affordabledentures.com