Blog · September 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Tooth Fairy Ideas and Traditions Around the World

Good Tooth Fairy ideas are small and repeatable: a note in tiny handwriting, a coin or small gift, a sprinkle of glitter and a record of each tooth. In the US, the average in 2026 is $5.84 a tooth and $7.17 for a first tooth, according to a Delta Dental poll ⁴. Around the world, children leave teeth for a mouse, throw them onto the roof or toss them toward the sun ¹².

Where the Tooth Fairy came from

Every recorded culture seems to have had some custom for disposing of a child's lost baby teeth, according to Smithsonian Magazine ¹. The fairy herself is a much newer idea. Smithsonian describes her as appearing around the turn of the twentieth century ¹, and the earliest known record of the custom is a 1908 "Household Hints" item in the Chicago Daily Tribune ².

One of the most widespread older customs, documented from Russia to New Zealand to Mexico, was to offer the tooth to a mouse or rat, in the hope that the child's adult teeth would grow in as strong as the rodent's ¹.

Tooth traditions around the world

• Spain and Latin America: Ratoncito Pérez, a small mouse, collects the tooth from under the pillow or on the bedside table and leaves a small payment or gift ³.
• Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Chile: the same mouse is often called El Ratón de los Dientes, the tooth mouse ³.
• Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Colombia: he is usually just El Ratón Pérez ³.
• France and French-speaking Belgium: La Petite Souris, the little mouse, does the job ².
• Cantabria in northern Spain: a tooth squirrel, L'Esquilu de los dientis, has been part of local lore ².
• Japan: one custom is to throw lost upper teeth straight down to the ground and lower teeth straight up into the air ².
• Korea: throwing both upper and lower teeth onto the roof was common ².
• Parts of the Middle East, including Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and Sudan: children have traditionally thrown a baby tooth up into the sky toward the sun ².

The story of Ratoncito Pérez

Ratoncito Pérez has a surprisingly specific origin. In 1894 the Spanish writer Luis Coloma wrote a tale for the young King Alfonso XIII, who had just lost a tooth at age eight ³. In Coloma's story the mouse lives with his family in a box of cookies in the basement of a Madrid confectionery and travels through the city's pipes to visit children who have lost teeth ³.

If your family has Spanish or Latin American roots, your child may love knowing that their tooth visitor is a mouse. The Ratoncito Pérez letter and the La Petite Souris letter let you keep those traditions alongside or instead of the fairy.

How much does the Tooth Fairy leave?

According to the 2026 Original Tooth Fairy Poll from Delta Dental, the average gift is $5.84 per tooth, up from $5.01 in 2025 ⁴. A first tooth averages $7.17, and 38% of parents say the Tooth Fairy leaves extra for the first one ⁴. Gifts other than money are rising too: 32% of children received a physical gift, up from 19% the year before ⁴. The poll surveyed 1,000 parents of children aged 6 to 12 in January 2026 ⁴.

For perspective, the same poll puts the 1998 average at $1.30 ⁴. But the right amount is whatever works for your family. Consistency matters more than the number: kids compare notes, and a big first tooth followed by quarters invites questions. Decide on a rate now and stick with it through all 20 baby teeth.

15 Tooth Fairy ideas

• 1. A tiny note in very small handwriting, or a printed letter from the fairy. The Tooth Fairy letter is personalized to your child.
• 2. Glitter "fairy dust" on the windowsill (a pinch goes a long way).
• 3. A tooth pillow or small pouch so the tooth is easy to find in the dark.
• 4. A gold dollar coin or a crisp bill, folded small.
• 5. A receipt: "One molar, excellent condition, received with thanks."
• 6. A certificate for a first tooth or a brave tooth. See certificates.
• 7. A new toothbrush left with the coin as a gentle reminder.
• 8. A tiny door sticker on the baseboard of their room.
• 9. A tooth chart where the fairy marks each tooth. The lost teeth page tracks which tooth, when and how.
• 10. A reply to their letter, if they leave a question for the fairy.
• 11. Small footprints in flour or powder leading away from the bed.
• 12. A book about teeth or a folk tale about the tooth mouse.
• 13. For the forgetful night: a note saying the fairy is running late because of a busy night.
• 14. For a swallowed or lost tooth: a note on the pillow explaining what happened is enough.
• 15. The roof toss: for families who keep that custom, go outside together and throw the tooth, making a wish for the new one.

What to do with the teeth

Some parents keep every tooth in a labeled box; others find that unsettling. A middle path is to keep the first one, then record the rest on paper: which tooth, the date, how it came out and what they said. That record is the part you will actually look at later.