going rate for a tooth these days?

So yesterday was a big milestone in this house as Keira lost her very 1st tooth! She was one of the last in her class to lose one so there was a lot of anticipation. So after weeks of wobbling and pushing it with her tongue, she came home yesterday and by then could do ‘360’s’ with it. So I offered to ‘help’. She giggled and I said I wouldn’t hurt so over she came to me (still giggling like crazy) and one little push and it was out!
First Tooth Lost In This House!
Now we weren’t sure what the tooth fairy left these days. Growing up I got 20c a tooth! Retro daddy got more (must be a Melbourne thing?) so I suggested she left $5 these days. Retro daddy (ever the accountant) thought no more than a couple of dollars. She ended up leaving $5 to one very happy 6 year old. But I’d love to hear what she leaves at your house as she obviously gets around!  

Comments

  1. Usually $2 =]

  2. We’re not quite at that stage yet, but I think a nice, shiny gold coin would be appropriate. So $1 – $2.

  3. With my kids it is about the gold coin as the tooth fairy has to swap a tooth for a gold coin and they don’t like it if they got a note. So mine got $4.

  4. In our house the first tooth lost is the money maker! So $5! Every tooth after that gets $1 or $2 depending on what the tooth fairy has in her purse at that moment!

  5. Gold coin around here, unless it has a hole or a filling, then she only pays in silver coins. As an ex-dental nurse I happen to know the tooth fairy doesn’t particularly value teeth unless they have been beautifully cared for. :)

  6. The tooth fairy leaves $2 in our house. Harry is keen to get all fo this teeth out to save up for more lego figures!

  7. Gold coin plus some glitter in the water

  8. $5 I would agree is a fair amount. My daughter said to me that she did not want to brush her teeth anymore as she wanted them all to fall out so she could get money. I told her the tooth fairy will not come if they fall out from decay

  9. We’ve had the tooth fairy forget here on the odd occasion (I know, parental guilt overload). She tends to compensate and leave more money if she’s forgotten the night before. But I think $5.00 is fair these days…

  10. Our tooth fairy leaves $2 gold coin in a glass of water with lots of stars and glitter. The tooth fairy almost forgot last night, then woke with a big fright and had to scramble around in the dark for the glitter. My blase son barely glanced at the glass and the sparkles. Maybe she should have forgotten!

  11. Coops lost 2 teeth last month and Woody gained his first two! Coop got $2 and a letter and sparkles etc and put it in the holiday fund moneybox!;) congrats to kiera x

  12. My grandchildren received $2. Youngest of them is now six, so fairly up to date. I can remember sixpence.

  13. Our fairy leaves $2 in a glass of water, however the fairy has forgotten in the past to leave it before mummy and daddy went to bed and some quick fairy action had to be taken before child awoke in the morning, she made it only just though. What a relief!

  14. We are still awaiting the first tooth loss although I’m sure it won’t be long as quite a few class mates have lost theirs. When I was growing up it was 20c for little teeth and 50c for the molars. I was thinking to do $1 for the small ones and $2 for the molars. I just think it should stay as coins. Perhaps it’s because we used to put our teeth in a small glass of water beside the bed and the tooth fairy would exchange tooth for coin! Perhaps $5 could be a special introductory offer for giving the Fairy her first tooth : ))

  15. Our tooth fairy is cheap after reading these. Gold coin for the first tooth, and 50c for each tooth after that.

  16. $2 is the going rate here. They want to see a coin in the bottom of the glass of water.
    My 5 year old doesn’t want the tooth fairy to come into her room (she shares with her 6 year old sister who is loosing the teeth).
    So we leave the tooth in the glass in the kitchen…..much easier not to forget to drop the money in!!

  17. Still waiting here too, and James just turned 7! Not even a wobbly tooth in sight. I am pretty sure that when it happens we will have to throw a party we have been waiting so long, lol

  18. Isabelle used to lose 2 teeth at the same time for every tooth. She lost her first 2 in kindergarten and the tooth fairy left a little fairy bear for her. She still has the bear too which is a nice keepsake!

  19. $5 per tooth.
    20 teeth per 6year old child.
    5 children to lose teeth.
    That’s $500 you know…

    LOL

  20. $5 for first, $2 thereafter. My 8 year old has only lost 2 bottom teeth, his top 2 are almost ground away from use (and it’s not junk food, he hates choc and lollies) I was worried and took him to the dentist. She said it was ok but we really needed to start wobbling them. We give them a wobble every night, and finally they are starting to get close to coming out.

  21. $2 for teeth in our house. The tooth fairy even left a very pretty letter saying how this tooth must have been brushed morning and night because it was very well cared for!

  22. Wow! $5!! You have very lucky children Corrie!! Although we still have a few years until my daughter looses her first tooth (just turned 4 on the weekend), I don’t see her getting more than a gold coin ($1 or $2). I do like the idea of more for the first tooth though, as the ladies above suggested…

  23. $2 for the first tooth and $1 after that here.

  24. We are still to have a lost tooth but there is a wiggly one and Miss 6 is wiggling it like mad.

    Going rate around here is $2, but one kid in the class had 4 removed at the dentist and got a tenner – I can imagine there was some pain involved with that one and a big note was required.

    Another kid came into dancing saying she got $10 for a tooth, but her parents filled in that ten 10 cent coins was as good as $10 to the five year old who still had little concept of money value.

    A fiver sounds like the tooth fairy was in a jolly good mood.

  25. $5 is fair for the first tooth lost, however each tooth after that gets $2, the more coins used to make up the $2 the better 😉
    Last year my eldest lost her last tooth, the tooth fairy left $10 and a note saying how nice it was doing business with her Lol.
    On the subject of forgetting- well the tooth fairy is sometimes quite far away and has a lot of children to visit, it can take days for her to get here. (I know I know bad bad tooth fairy! However she usually over compensates on those visits)

  26. Completely tooth dependent. Even with 4 children, they lose them SO SLOWLY – my eldest lost her last baby tooth the last day of year 7!! My son didn’t lose a tooth until year 3. Everyone will tell you that losing teeth slowly & getting adult ones at an older age is great for adult tooth health, so stick with me on the very slow go train. Braces, if required, will come later too. Due to this very slow process, we tend to give a gold coin donation.
    I remember this topic when a mum at preschool – her son lost his first tooth & she had no idea, gave him $2, i mean the tooth fairy . . . then his over bearing grandmother said the tooth fairy left $20 at her house for him too!! Furious!! Oh well, thinking about what we spend on them regardless, the tooth fairy can shout the odd gift it seems too?? Love Posie

  27. PS when my middle daughter smashed her tooth out of her mouth coming off a scooter on the footpath, we emptied our pockets that night & she scored $7 from the tooth fairy. That was a lot less than the dentist trip the following day to check up that her adult tooth (front tooth!!) had blood flowing & was totally Ok. Love Posie

  28. I’m lucky I only have girls, so our tooth fairy got to be creative. The get a charm for their charm bracelet for each tooth.

  29. In our house it’s a gold coin. Usually $2. But the 6 year old has “lost” his last two teeth at after-school care so the tooth fairy is not happy with him and won’t be paying for lost teeth anymore. If it’s not under the pillow, then she doesn’t pay up. The letter which mum wrote to her was only good for one lost tooth.

  30. $2 here! One time an accidental punch by a brother knocked out 2 teeth at once and so he got $2 per tooth and $1 for the punch!! Total $5!!

  31. Ours leaves $2 unless it’s a Saturday night and she “forgets” because she has been at a tooth fairy convention interstate. melx

  32. Well, we’re getting fleeced – $20 for the first tooth, and $10 after that.

  33. First tooth gets a note, so $5 and a shiny $2 each tooth after. I swear my dughtersc class is keeping the tooth fairy very busy, almost every kid is missing at least 3-4 teeth.

  34. I think a gold coin is more than enough

  35. $2 here too but $5 for the first is fine I think.

  36. Always a gold coin here, either $1 or $2.

    The tooth fairy has on several occasions not been able to make it to our house on the night that the tooth has fallen out… too wet for her to fly, busy night in tooth fairy land and she had to be home before the sun came up, too cold, too hot, she had a cold… oh the creative excuses that forgetful mothers can come up with 😉

  37. $5 for the first tooth then a gold coin donation after that… :)

  38. OH and after a couple of near misses by the tooth fairy, we all agreed that leaving the tooth in a special box on the kitchen counter is the way to go. I picked up a tiffany pill box from New York years ago to use a a tooth fairy box for my (future) kids, it works great – tooth in the “moon” night side, and then in the morning the $ is in the “sun” day side.
    But moving the whole shebang to the kitchen bench has saved a multitude of near misses… LOL!

  39. $2 here as it’s the only coin, apart from a 5c piece, that fits in the eldest child’s tooth box. The Tooth Fairy can be an expensive business particularly when you can have several children losing teeth at the same time. Maybe first tooth could pay more than subsequent teeth? I’m surprised Retro Daddy hasn’t done a spreadsheet on what the Tooth Fairy will cost over time? ;-)))

  40. Hang on a minute . . . I just had two wisdom teeth out, the biggest the dentist has ever seen, and HE charged ME! Hundreds of dollars! Something’s not right here!!!

  41. The tooth fairy leaves $2 here-growing up I got $1 for a single and $2 for a double

  42. Here in Germany it is about 5 €…That is about 6.25 AUD… =) Greetings from Cologne =)

  43. I think $5 is a lot. James did get $5 for each of the 4 he had out under a general anaesthetic (after a boat accident) but the rest will be $2.

  44. A gold coin donation from the tooth fairy in this house. Its always exciting to get coins!

  45. Plenty of near misses here, I’m afraid. Daughter on the top bunk even heard the tooth fairy as the coins went ‘clink’ into the glass at 6am once. She was too scared to look – thank goodness! It was close. )))

    We’ve got all four losing teeth at the moment. Three teeth from two children in a week last month. Two more wobbly now.
    Rate is certainly no more than a dollar or two – and in silver – they seem to like multiple coins. One or two 50c pieces still gets the twins excited. x

  46. Zippola in my house, now my kids are all grown but the tooth fairy did not leave money.

  47. At our house the tooth fairy leaves $2 for the first tooth and $1 after that. Just remember children have a lot of teeth and you will have 5 sets of teeth! Best of luck

  48. ahh £1 here for 7 1/2 year old. and there are some great little tooth monster hangies around – makes the £1 seem a bit more special.

  49. We had our first tooth fairy visit a week or so ago too, and I also had to help the process along that last little bit!

    My Sister (without children!) suggested that $20 should be the going rate these days….. I quickly explained that $20 x 20 teeth x 2 children =$800 worth of teeth!!!

    For you as a family of soon to be 5 children thats a whopping $2000! Yikes!

    Phillipa Fairy ended up leaving a lovely little minature note and $2 here.

  50. Gosh, Retrodaddy’s brother just confirmed they TF used to be very financial in Melbourme.

  51. The tooth fairy leaves a nice shiny $2 coin in our home – with 4 kids, we have lots of teeth for the tooth fairy!!!!

  52. Hi after 3 kids ranging from 17 to 7 and about 60-70 teeth so far the rate has gone from 20cents with my first to gold coin with the 7yr old. However plan ahead…. what I mean is the first tooth is special…. the tooth fairy pays more… $5.00 in our house.

    We also have a fairy that is a bit vague so the kids know that if she doesn’t come the first night that it must have been a busy night and she will either come the next night (or while they are at school at you were out alllllll day!!)

    Now she also can retrieve the teeth if they get lost in the playground, we just leave a note for her by the bed with the usual cup of water saying roughly where it got lost, she has special glitter she uses to find them. When she leaves the money we know she found the tooth. And last but not least when it accidently gets swallowed. Not to worry, she uses special gltter to get that too! Just leave a note!!!! I’ll leave you to explain the technicalities anyway you can cope with!!! And boys like it a little different to girls!!

  53. $2 here too

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  55. WOW, that is going to turn out to be very costly for you Corrie especially when the twins start losing their teeth, a gold coin is plenty for little kids when losing teeth. In my opinion I think they’d much prefer a nice shiny coin to a note which they don’t really know the value of.

  56. Was also gold coin here too….but can remember Miss J telling me her friends getting $5.00. Having said that, we’re off to the Orthodontist next week!!
    Cheers….Jane.

  57. I recently paid a premium for my little darling’s tooth. She had put it in a glass of water … i stealthily removed it when I was going to bed, sprinkled a few sparkles around her bedside table and then forgot to leave any money.

    My daugher was devastated :-( she just couldn’t understand why the toothfairy would take the tooth and leave no money. I told her something about the toothfairy being really busy and that she would definitely return … and make it up to her … which she did – a whole $10 (to try and offset the day’s worth of misery and guilt).

    But i’m now when the next tooth is due for collection I suspect my savvy daughter is going to expect the same high returns. Here comes another load of fabricated fairy stories.

  58. $2 in our house!

  59. The tooth fairy leave $2 here. I think she finds notes a little too cumbersome. The coins are easier for her to carry while she is flying.

  60. Oh how sweet, good to know as my eldest is still waiting for his tooth to start wobbling, all his class mates are toothless or have massive ones 😉

    Having 4 kids myself under 6, I think I’ll stick to $2 otherwise these kids are gonna leave me broke! XxDani

  61. Oh how gorgeous, Keira looks so cute with her missing tooth! What a milestone! I can still remember the excitement of losing a tooth as a child… NOW I actually have a recurring nightmare of losing my teeth and that ain’t so fun!
    I think you have a generous fairy in your house, though I know teeth these days seem to command a lot more than the $1 I used to get in my day, haha! xo

  62. $2 otherwise the tooth fairy is going to be broke!!

  63. a handful of coins, about 1-2$ is what is amounts too

  64. We’re yet to experience this at our place yet. I’ve always imagined coins but not really thought much about it. I do however tell the kids that the better they brush their teeth the better price they’ll get from the fairy. You get what you pay for and all that. Ms 3 is already excited in anticipation of the day that finally she’ll lose a tooth because she is hoping for the gold chocolate coins. I’m not sure how this sits with me… surely a tooth fairy wouldn’t exchange confection for a tooth would he/she?
    … and for that matter what is the gender of the tooth fairy? Or are there a whole team of them and you have to see which one is allocated to you? So much to think about.

    Awesome smile!

  65. it’s gold coin here, $2 and a ‘fairy’ note :)

  66. it’s gold coin here, $2 and a ‘fairy’ note :)

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