Average under-the-pillow gifts dip by 11 percent
The Tooth Fairy has tightened her money bag after an all-time high payout last year. According to the Original Tooth Fairy Poll, sponsored by Delta Dental, the Tooth Fairy’s cash gifts in 2017 dropped to an average of $4.13, a 53 cent drop from 2016. Delta Dental’s Original Tooth Fairy Poll typically serves as a good indicator of the economy’s overall direction, tracking with the movement of Standard & Poor’s 500 index (S&P 500) for 12 of the past 14 years.
The December 2017 poll shows the Tooth Fairy hasn’t quite been able to keep up with the market’s hot pace—with an 11 percent cash payout decrease from 2016, while the S&P 500 saw a total return in 2017 of almost 18 percent.
