kase says

The economic slump has been hard on everyone — even the Tooth Fairy.

An annual poll conducted by the nonprofit Delta Dental Plans Association showed that on average, kids are finding $2.10 under their pillows the morning after leaving a lost tooth there. That number is down 42 cents from the $2.52 they received per tooth in 2010.

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“It appears that the Tooth Fairy may be instituting some austerity measures,” Chris Pyle, public relations director for Delta Dental, told The Daily of the 16.6 percent cut.

The group, which released its poll results yesterday, said that the amount the Tooth Fairy leaves roughly correlates with the Dow Jones industrial average for the year.

But Shannan Boyer, a 36-year-old Cincinnati mother of two and author of the blog Mommy Bits, told The Daily that she keeps her sons’ Tooth Fairy payout steady, regardless of the economy.

“We do $5 for the first tooth because it’s a big deal and it’s a celebration,” she said. “And for any teeth after that, it’s a dollar.”

And Corey Helmick, an 8-year-old in Madison, Va., told The Daily that he usually gets two gold dollar coins from the Tooth Fairy for each tooth.

“When a tooth starts to get loose, yes, I do get excited,” he said.

Creative Commons post image via flickr user protoflux.

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