# How much did you get per tooth from the tooth fairy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278 "2011-05-18T03:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/41 "2011-05-28T13:59:14Z")
I would get one Star Wars Action Figure. Guess when I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/42 "2011-05-28T14:34:55Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > One of my son’s friends got $5 for his first tooth. My son is trying to get me to negotiate with the tooth fairy for $100 per tooth. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. > > Anyway, that got me to thinking - how much did you get per tooth from the tooth fairy (assuming she visited, of course)? > > I think I got .25 - .50 back in the early 80s. Apparently inflation’s a bitch. After reading the OP and before looking at the other posts in the thread: I may have gotten a quarter for my last tooth, but it was more like a nickel or dime (or nothing) back in those days (early 40’s). My kids (60’s) got less than a dollar per tooth, but not much over a quarter from me or my wife. Grandparents were more generous but I don’t really know by how much. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/43 "2011-05-28T18:10:46Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > People actually give their kids that much for a _tooth_? Jeez. I thought my son’s request was so funny I laughed out loud. I can’t imagine actually doing that. > > The book idea is a good one. Hmmm… So much to think about. Because [long boring explanation] my son has always been in schools with people far more affluent than we are. Before he’d lost any teeth he came home from school and said “Cara lost a tooth. The tooth fairy gave her a CD Player and a watch.” I responded that Cara must live in another tooth district because there is no way our tooth fairy will be bringing anything like that to our house. Fortunately he started losing teeth when state quarters were new and exciting. He’d get one or two for each tooth arbitrarily, depending on what new and different ones I had on hand. He did receive some dollar coins for some of his molars. Seemed fair. A comedian talked about the tooth fairy. She said her daughter came to her one morning, upset that the tooth fairy hadn’t come. “I told her, that’s because you lost your tooth on the 23rd. Our tooth fairy comes on the 1st and the 15th.” ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/44 "2011-05-29T15:43:27Z")
We didn’t bother with the Tooth Fairy, but Dad used to give me 50 cents or a dollar when I lost one, if I remember right. A wise investment. He still has them 😃 (born in '79) ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/45 "2011-05-29T16:11:46Z")
In the 60s, the tooth fairy brought me a dime. My youngest kids currently get four quarters. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/46 "2011-05-29T16:51:55Z")
Zero. Born in 1954. Come to think of it, I don’t think I even heard of the Tooth Fairy till I was past the tooth-losing stage. I think we gave our daughter a quarter a pop - she was born in '85. But she soon blew it. One morning, she announced that she knew there wasn’t a tooth fairy because she’d given us the “ultimate test.” She lost a tooth and put it under her pillow without telling us. Naturally, it was still there in the morning. She was less than thrilled when we pointed out that she’s killed that golden goose. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/47 "2011-05-30T03:37:02Z")
A quarter. Mid-90’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/48 "2011-05-30T12:25:43Z")
A quarter per tooth. My mom usually didn’t get around to doing the swap overnight, so I’d wake up to the tooth still there, and she’d substitute the money while I was eating breakfast. This was the late eighties. I never believed in Santa Claus, either. Anyway–my seven year old nephew now gets several dollars and a small toy every time he loses a tooth. ---
**Author:** ![pakalolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@pakalolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pakalolo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/49 "2011-05-30T14:41:05Z")
I was quite a late bloomer and lost my last baby tooth when I was 21. (Well I actually lost my last baby tooth a year ago but that was a weird situation.) I do remember getting 50 cent pieces or silver dollars for the first few, then my parents told me flat out that I was too old get money from the tooth fairy any more. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/50 "2011-05-30T15:15:18Z")
Born 1969. The going rate in our house was a dime, though I got a quarter for a tooth that had to be pulled. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/51 "2011-05-30T15:26:20Z")
Born 1976, I got fifty cents, in the form of a half-dollar coin. I thought the coins were cool. Then my brother in the later 80s got a dollar. I remain jealous. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/52 "2011-05-31T00:42:16Z")
Late '70s early '80s I got a dime per tooth. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Eel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/977dab/32.png) [@Old\_Eel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Eel)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/53 "2011-05-31T03:32:18Z")
Two bits in the '60’s. But did I get a damn thing when I had to have all my wisdom teeth out? _No, sah_! ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/54 "2011-05-31T03:58:21Z")
We got a quarter per tooth; my siblings were jealous when I had 4 molars yanked at age 8, and got a whole two bucks!! I just can’t keep up with inflation. I’m glad I didn’t have kids, because I probably would have choked on what babysitters charge these days. I never got more than 1.00 an hour, no matter how many kids there were. I think I would shit my pants if I found out what an average 4-5 hour night out would cost for parents nowadays. 😮 ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/55 "2011-05-31T04:26:48Z")
I don’t remember if I ever got cash for teeth. I do remember gradually getting [this](http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=1967_1&v=z) LEGO kit from the tooth fairy over the course of five teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/56 "2011-05-31T04:37:05Z")
Born in the '60s. I received a dime each for 3 teeth. After the third tooth, my dad was like “enough of this crap.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/57 "2011-05-31T05:45:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > _[The Family Circus](http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/5350/familycircus0723.jpg)_ has covered the [tooth fairy on several occasions](http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/5138/familycircus0135.jpg) [Quite indeed.](http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF187-Way_Too_Much.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/58 "2011-05-31T05:46:01Z")
Born in 1969, I received a quarter for each tooth. The only exception was when I had to have 2 teeth pulled for over crowding, I received a dollar for the one I put under my pillow. I kept the other one because I thought it was cool because it had the whole root attached. My son was born in 1998, he received a dollar for each tooth for a while. He had to be nagged to put the tooth in his tooth pillow and then would usually forget to even look for his money the next morning. The tooth fairy got annoyed and stopped coming. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/59 "2011-05-31T07:14:27Z")
I got 20 cents back in the late 60s. That was enough to buy 4 packets of life savers. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278/60 "2011-06-01T03:54:26Z")
Ten cents for me, which was a week’s allowance! This was in the decade 1940-1950 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-did-you-get-per-tooth-from-the-tooth-fairy/582278.md?page=2)