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 ferry 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 Ferry 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?