The Economics Behind Tooth Fairy Day (August 22nd - Next Friday!)
If you need a way to explain inflation to middle or high school students, this is the one (don't use it with elementary kids and spoil it for them!) I know this post is a week early, but as I was finishing tweaks on the list of August "holidays" I came across this one and was intrigued. Then . . . I had a USA Today story on the topic in my news feed this AM. I didn't want to bury it in the long list of August holidays I posted, so it gets its own post!
Jay LeBlanc
8/16/20252 min read
As I noted above, I think this is a great example of inflation that older students will relate to. If you don't think Inflation is involved (or if you are saying "I never spent that much money on MY kids"), check out this graphic from Delta Dental:
In case you are not getting the trend of the graph, the green line is showing the increase in price for a tooth over the past 25 years, while the purple line shows the S&P 500 over the same period. And as one of the articles below notes, the downward trend of the past 2-3 years might indicate while teeth (and other expenses) have continued to get more expensive, parents' salaries haven't always kept up . . .
Specific Data/Articles on the Economics of the Tooth Fairy
"The Going Rate for the Tooth Fairy and How Much to Pay", Hi Tooth Fairy, Feb 2025, https://hitoothfairy.com/blogs/tooth-fairy-times/tooth-fairy-economics-understanding-the-going-rate-and-making-meaningful-exchanges?
"How Much Money Should The Tooth Fairy Leave?" (podcast), Planet Money - NPR, Apr 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/04/02/708713839/video-how-much-money-should-the-tooth-fairy-leave
"Inflation Under the Pillow", NPR, Mar 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/03/04/1161103617/opinion-inflation-under-the-pillow
"The Tooth Fairy has been working overtime this year", Delta Dental, Aug 2025, https://www.deltadental.com/us/en/tooth-fairy/press-release.html#2025
"The Tooth Fairy Index Is A Surprising Indicator of Financial Anxiety", ZME Science, Feb 2025, https://www.zmescience.com/other/economics/tooth-fairy-economy-trend/
"Tooth Fairy Rates 2025: A Guide to Magical Traditions", ToothFairyLetterBot.com, May 2025, https://toothfairyletterbot.com/body/tooth-fairy-rates-2025
"'The Tooth Fairy sticks to a budget:' Kids are finding less under their pillows for lost teeth", USA Today, Aug 2025, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2025/08/14/kids-tooth-fairy-budget-money-parents/85661490007/?
Other Tooth Fairy-related links you may be interested in:
"Fairy Tales: Tooth Fairy Traditions" (make sure you click the various country/region tabs under the "Global Traditions" heading), Delta Dental, Aug 2025, https://www.deltadental.com/us/en/tooth-fairy/fairy-tales.html
"Opening up the Tooth Fairy File: What does the Tooth Fairy do with all those teeth?", National Museum of American History, Feb 2013, https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/opening-tooth-fairy-file-what-does-tooth-fairy-do-all-those-teeth
Related video - "The Tooth Fairy Files", NMAH, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IiGRZTB-6A
"The Origin of the Tooth Fairy for Kids | History for the Tooth Fairy", Twinkl Teaching Resources, May 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3BrM6NWJNU
"The Tooth Fairy Experience" (for K-2 classrooms), Delta Dental of Washington, https://www.deltadentalwa.com/toothfairy
"Tooth Fairy Letter Blog" (A surprisingly comprehensive resource on the Tooth Fairy, including working with SPED kids, international observances, statistics, and more), May 2025, https://toothfairyletterbot.com/blog
"Tooth Fairy Resources and Activities" (for elementary kids), Delta Dental, Aug 2025, https://www.deltadental.com/us/en/tooth-fairy/tooth-fairy-resources.html
