Tooth Fairy Leaving More Cash Ever, Except in the Midwest

If your kids see this they may start begging to move to another state. So before they catch you checking this story out, I will get right to the point. The tooth fairy is pretty cheap when it comes to Michigan and the Midwest.

On the up side, the Tooth Fairy's average cash gift reached its highest point in the 23-year history. According to Delta Dental's Original Tooth Fairy Poll, the value of a lost tooth has more than tripled since they started analyzing the Tooth Fairy's U.S. annual giving trends back in 1998.

Back when it was decided that tracking the Tooth Fairy's financial portfolio was important, the average value of a lost tooth was just $1.30. Now, 2020's giving is the highest all-time average of $4.70 per tooth, which is four-cents higher than the previous peak back in 2017 at $4.66.

So far this is sounding pretty great right? If you're a kid popping out teeth left and right that is. Well, don't get too excited, because Michigan is one of the states where the Tooth Fairy is pretty tight with the money.

The Midwest came in at the bottom of the rankings for lost tooth payouts according to the study. Here's the breakdown:

• $5.72 – The Northeast: Leads U.S. regions in the highest average monetary gift for a lost tooth.
• $4.45 – The South: Tracks most closely to the overall U.S. average.
• $5.54 – The West: With a nearly two-dollar increase over 2019, the West moves from third average gift to second highest this year.
• $3.66 – The Midwest: Remains lower than the national average for the third year in a row.

It's hard to really say why we fall into the "cheap" zone. The The Original Tooth Fairy Poll typically mirrors the economy's overall direction, tracking with the trends of Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) for 16 of the past 19 years. The positive is that the magic of the Tooth Fairy is still alive and well, no matter what the monetary value.

"Having the Tooth Fairy visit to celebrate the loss of a tooth is a time-honored tradition, and 2020 was no exception," said Emily O’Brien, Director of Strategic Communications, Delta Dental Plans Association. "Many parents welcomed the Tooth Fairy into their homes last year as a way to teach their kids about the importance of oral health and embrace a bit of much needed light-hearted fun along the way."

Still, come on Tooth Fairy....show us a little more coin.