Tooth Fairy 45% More Generous in 2013

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Seems like the cost of everything is going up. Gas. Food. Lost teeth.

Good thing the Tooth Fairy’s a generous sort of fairy: 44.6 percent more generous in 2013 compared with the year before, according to a nonscientific email poll of parents conducted by Delta Dental.

The going rate for a lost tooth is $3.50 on average, up from $2.42 in 2012.

The poll, conducted every year since 1998, shows a correlation between the Tooth Fairy’s generosity and the performance of the S&P 500. Delta Dental calls it a “good barometer” of the market’s overall direction.

“Tooth Fairy giving has tracked with the movement of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) in 10 of the past 11 years, Delta Dental said in a news release. “In 2013, the S&P 500 gained 29.6 percent, its best annual performance since 1997.”

Looks like the Tooth Fairy’s investments are doing well.

And for parents wondering whether their kids will get more money for that all-important first tooth, the answer is yes. First teeth cost the fairy an average of $4.51.

Other findings from the poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 parents nationwide, include:

• The Tooth Fairy visited 86 percent of U.S. homes with children who lost a tooth.
• The Tooth Fairy left cash for kids in 98 percent of the homes she visited. Two percent of children received toys, gum or other gifts.
• The most common amount left under the pillow by the Tooth Fairy was $1 (42 percent received this amount).
• Twenty-eight percent of kids hit it rich and received $5 or more for each lost tooth.

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