Even the Tooth Fairy is feeling the cost of living crunch with payments down 10%

01 February 2023 , 19:13

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Payments for baby teeth are down 10%, according to new research (Image: Getty Images)

You know times are hard when even the Tooth Fairy feels the cost-of-living crunch.

Payments for baby teeth are down 10% from an average £2.10 apiece five a years ago to £1.90.

And how much cash children find under their pillow also depends on where you live.

The winged tooth collector is leaving an average of £2.30 in London, rising to a peak of £5 in affluent Kensington & Chelsea.

However, for youngsters in Newcastle and the North East of England, the dental deposits are a measly 90p per gnasher.

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The results come from a survey of 5,000 parents by Dental Phobia, a website set up to help the millions who fear having to make a trip to the dentist.

Youngsters in Newcastle and the North East of England are given a measly 90p per gnasher (Getty Images)

It found 27% of children receive a £1 coin for each lost tooth, 25% get a £2 coin and 14% are given less than £1 – most typically 50p.

Some 12% of them receive £5 a pearly white, 9% are given £10, 3% get between £10 and £20 and 2% awake to more than £20 in exchange.

Only 8% of children never receive a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

27% of children receive a £1 coin for each lost tooth (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Dentist Rhona Eskander, who runs the Chelsea Dental Clinic in West London, said: “The Tooth Fairy is feeling the pinch like the rest of us.

“Payments are down by 10% over the last five years, but encouragingly the Tooth Fairy is still coming out almost every time a child loses a tooth.

"It is just that they are leaving a little less money.”

Stephen White