When I lost my first tooth (about age 6, IIRC), I proved empirically there was no Tooth Fairy. Not that I was trying to, I really wanted the money. I’d heard about this magical being that dispensed money for lost teeth and put my tooth under my pillow as required, but no one told me that I also had to tell my mother about the tooth loss. (Not sure I would have gotten any money anyway, even the nickel that was standard at the time; my parents rarely gave us kids any.)
Wow, a nickle? How old are you?
Just be glad it wasn’t Tanith Lee’s tooth fairy. She only carried large coins, didn’t give change, and carried pliers.
It would have been about 1960 when I lost the tooth. A nickel in those days would buy a candy bar, although within a couple years the price for most went up to a dime. I imagine the typical Tooth Fairy remuneration went up too.
Terry Pratchett had a similar joke in one of his stories. Hogfather, I think.