National Tooth Fairy Day: How much is a baby tooth worth?

For kids, lost baby teeth are generally cause for celebration, as the tooth fairy is dishing out more cash than ever, with a national average of $5.36 per tooth. In celebration of National Tooth Fairy Day, the editorial team at DrBicuspid is taking a closer look at what the fairy is leaving behind.

DrBicuspid's editorial team surveyed 40 participants at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting. We asked how much a baby tooth is worth today. The top answer was $5.

Delta Dental's Original Tooth Fairy Poll confirms the editorial team's informal survey of conference goers. For more than 20 years, Delta Dental has surveyed more than 1,000 parents of children ages 6 to 12 across the U.S. on how generous the tooth fairy had been that year.

The Original Tooth Fairy Poll mirrors the S&P 500. Image courtesy of Delta Dental.

Results from 2022 indicate that the tiny fairy is leaving behind $5.36, a whopping increase of 66% from 2021 ($4.70) and more than 33% from 2020 ($4.03). The value of a lost baby tooth in 2022 is more than quadruple the average amount than when the poll first started: $1.30.

Over time, the Tooth Fairy Index has shown that the value of a lost tooth closely correlates with movement of the S&P 500. This has been the case for 17 of the past 20 years, confirming the Tooth Fairy Poll is generally a good barometer of the overall direction of the economy.