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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

what is the going rate of the tooth fairy?

86 replies

leelo · 01/08/2011 14:39

my daughter is 6 and needs to get 7, possibly 9 teeth taken out at hospital. and normally when she loses a tooth the fairy leaves her a £2 coin. with the prospect of this many coming out at once i wondered if there is current rate for teeth or special rates for lots at once. i have some time before she gets this done so can organise a 2nd mortgage.

OP posts:

PaulaYatesbiggestfan · 02/08/2011 20:24

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

Taffeta · 02/08/2011 20:29

£1 here. DS (7) has to go into hospital to have his two front teeth extracted later this year as he bashed them when he was 18 months and the nerve died and we've been told they won't come out of their own accord. He needs a GA in hospital for it.

He is terrified. I have promised him some special football boots if he's brave.

upahill · 02/08/2011 20:30

£3.50???? how ridiculous - the children are babies- what's that about?
Oi!! My and Dh's decision about what we give.
Nothing ridiculous about it, DS had his teeth coming out very late and needed a lot of help from the dentist which he was scared of.
The deal was he could save some of it and spend some of it.

spiderpig8 · 02/08/2011 20:31

£1 a tooth.Although the TF did leave DD a fiver when the dentist had to pull one out with an abcess under it!!

sarahtigh · 02/08/2011 20:34

leelo
obviously that's a shame your daughter needs so many teeth out, and its not your fault at all. sorry never got back to message board before. But I can see why the dentist gave the bad parent look as 97% of extractions are not due to enamel defects and childhood medication for serious illnesses. but on too many sweets and sugary stuff too often... and not enough brushing.

I still think about £1 - 1.50 a tooth though

i am sure they have said itts a possibility that her second teeth could be affected too so make sure they get fissure sealed as soon as they come through, good luck and best wishes with the GA

wobblyweeble82 · 02/08/2011 20:46

£1 here too ... Although she left one of DS' pals 50p and another £5. Not quite worked out how to explain that one ...

CointreauVersial · 02/08/2011 20:57

£1 a tooth here, but ones lost in a stressful manner (knocked out in the case of DD1, removed by dentist because it was in the wrong place in the case of DD2) usually get £2, and a letter to commemorate the act of bravery.

The DDs have started to write letters to the tooth fairy, requesting details about family members, living arrangements and often a picture of said fairy. Cue stressed parents hunting for felt tips and glitter glue at 1am, after several galsses of vino.

CointreauVersial · 02/08/2011 20:58

galsses?? glasses! I've only had three one, honest.

Nefret · 02/08/2011 21:01

£2 here, I was all for giving £1 but DH was feeling generous and said £2

OP - I think if your daughter has to lose her teeth like that maybe it would be nice for her to get the same amount for each tooth, it may cheer her up a bit after losing so many in one go.

maighdlin · 02/08/2011 21:53

it will be a while before the tooth fairy visits our house but i think a pound is a reasonable amount. i got 50p so when factoring in inflation seems ok. however i would not give anything for a tooth taken out due to decay. don't believe that a child should be "rewarded" for not caring for their teeth. would say that the tooth fairy didn't want bad teeth.

Bunbaker · 02/08/2011 21:57

£1 here - in not very affluent South Yorkshire.

ReindeerBollocks · 02/08/2011 21:59

We paid £5 for the first tooth as it seemed like a big deal to DS (slightly pfb moment) but he was told quite clearly that the remainder of the teeth would have a £1 value.

At the rate he's losing teeth at the moment the tooth fairy may reduce this further to 50p! If I didn't see a few of them recently fall out I'd swear the bugger was pulling them out on purpose

Concordia · 02/08/2011 22:06

i am amazed at the number of people saying a pound. DS is only 5 so hasn't lost any yet and i don't know how many milk teeth people have but i can't imagine i woudl give a pound per tooth. i was thinking of 20p or 50p if flush!

bumpandisaacsmum · 02/08/2011 22:13

We gave £1 for DS's first then 20p per tooth (though the 2 large front teeth ended up being 50p each as had no 20p at the time!!) At 6 he is happy to have any amount and as he has started earning pocket money (5-10p per task) he saves it up through the week and will buy himself something when he has enough!!

With DS's latest tooth he actually wrote a letter to the tooth fairy due to his friend's getting anything from £2-£5. I was suprised though that he didn't ask for more himself but rather asked "could you ask the other tooth fairies to give the other children less money as it is not fair that they get so much more than I do".

If he were to loose a tooth due to not brushing properly then he would get a letter from the tooth fairy explaining she would give him nothing until she could see he brushes his teeth properly twice a day (we have told him this when he went through a stage of not wanting to brush his teeth & it worked well).

As for your DD, she is having to have so many out through no fault of her own; I feel that a special gift from the tooth fairy would what I would do in your situation as it rewards the bravery of having to be in hospital as well as being a payment for the teeth from the tooth fairy.

wakesandquakes · 02/08/2011 22:13

It's £1 here, although due to some Tooth Fairy confusion, and miscommunication, there were two visits from the TF for the first tooth and so two pound coins! Hmmmm. TF communication improved after that.

We have a friend whose TF only provided reduced money for teeth with filings - inferior goods. Parents thought it very funny, DD (who was pretty old by this point) not very impressed at all.

startail · 02/08/2011 22:14

£1, but the tooth fairy will not pay for the one with a filling.
This one hasn't fallen put yet, but DD2 threw a grade a strop when told this. She knows who the tooth fairy is (she's 10) and declared it most unfair. Unfortunately I am a CHP (cruel heartless parent) and given the fairy stories I have heard about teeth being brushed I am not paying up.

PhylisStein · 02/08/2011 22:29

£1 per tooth

yellowkiwi · 02/08/2011 22:47

£1 seems to be the going rate for our local tooth fairy.

MollieO · 02/08/2011 22:51

£1 here but the tooth fairy is quite forgetful so ds usually has to wait a few nights for a visit.

He has dreadful teeth because of being on continual antibiotics from birth to 4.5 yrs. No choice at all about that. His dentist says lots can be done to improve them once they are mineralised.

FabbyChic · 02/08/2011 22:55

20p cheapskate!

My kids are 23 and 17, they got £1 each when they lost theirs.

newportstateofmind · 02/08/2011 23:16

DS hasn't lost any yet - but as a teacher I wish all the various tooth fairies would get together and agree a going rate! It's very hard explaining to 2 children who both lose teeth at the same time, why one gets 50p and the other gets a fiver!!

Personally I would say that anything over £1 is excessive.

KeepCalmAndPrayToCastiel · 02/08/2011 23:28

My DS(6) has only lost one tooth and that was removed by the dentist (he fell and broke it and it turned black and he kept getting a painful abcess on his gum). He got £2 for that from the tooth fairy. Softy me also sent £25 on a toy in Toys R Us straight after the extraction as he was so brave but it was really distressing for him and he sobbed his wee heart out afterwards. I had to buy a toy to get us both over the trauma.

It will be £1 from now on!

jasper · 02/08/2011 23:52

I am a dentist and am astonished at how much the tooth fairies from poorer families give their kids - often five or ten pounds

haveirememberedthebaby · 02/08/2011 23:56

First tooth, DD1 got a special book called Diary of a tooth fairy or something similar. Fairy in the story is called Pip, DD started writing to her, so seemed rude for "Pip" not to write back. Didn't want to get into Pip writing every time, so one time she didn't and DD1 was absolutely devastated!

50p per tooth, although a couple of times Pip has forgotten , so has brought £1 the following night! That was a devastating one for DD1 too (sensitive soul) - we had to think very quickly at 6am, bleary-eyed, about why she hadn't made it... the following night on one of them we almost didn't remember either - only that DD3 disturbed us at about 4am and suddenly thought " - haven't done the tooth fairy!" so was turning on the computer to write the note in the early hours! Made it by the skin of our teeth...!

DD2 is just 5 and has no wobbly teeth yet. Not quite sure whether to buy a second copy of the book (and third) so they have one each or have a ceremonial 'handing down' of DD1's as a rite of passage...

DD1 wrote in one letter to Pip could she please fly out through her sisters' room and give them both a kiss on her way out - impossible not to leave a note in reply to that one - bless!

Check out www.toothfairyland.com www.toothfairy.org & www.toothfairycity.com Similar ones available for Santa, too

2kidsintow · 02/08/2011 23:59

£1. Double if they need any removing by the dentist....or if the tooth fairy forgot to call the first night...oops. (I got 20p, but that's inflation).

My friend gives her daughter £1 from the tooth fairy, but before it goes under the pillow to be whisked away in the night, she makes her daughter show it to her Dad and both Nanas and both Grandads. Every adult gives her £1. That's £6 a tooth. Barmy.

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