The Tooth Fairy is giving kids $20-$60 per first tooth, Long Island parents say

Inflation has found its way to a certain fairy known for leaving bucks under the pillows of gap-toothed children on Long Island.

The good news: It’s not as out of control as the online furor caused when singer Zayn Malik had the Tooth Fairy leave his 5-year-old daughter $500 for losing her first tooth earlier this year. The bad news: It’s no longer the quarter-under-the-pillow of days of yore, either.

Children on Long Island do seem to be getting a bonus for losing that first tooth — but according to the more than 100 mom comments left on a Facebook post on Bad Moms of Long Island, that going rate is typically $20, maybe $30. "The first one is special. I feel like it’s an exciting milestone," Bad Moms creator Jesse Curatolo, 35, of Lynbrook, says of why the first tooth garners so much attention. The prospect of a payout also makes the children "excited instead of scared" of their teeth falling out, she says.

The amounts caused Curatolo to jokingly comment that she was considering yanking out her own teeth to cash in.

Full disclosure: The Tooth Fairy gave Curatolo’s daughter, Olivia, now 8, about $60 for her first tooth, and relatives handed her gifts as well so that, in the end, she netted about $120, Curatolo says. "It’s crazy how much these kids are getting for teeth," she says.

It’s crazy how much these kids are getting for teeth.

— Jesse Curatolo, 35, of Lynbrook, creator of the Bad Moms of Long Island Facebook group

After the first tooth, many parents say their children received $5 or $10 for their remaining teeth — children typically lose 20 teeth between the ages of about 6 and 12, according to the American Dental Association. But the fairy deliveries are all over the map on Long Island — the societywide reduced dependence on cash has affected the Tooth Fairy as well, causing quite a bit of last-minute creativity for unanticipated tooth loss. Apparently even fairies could use a Venmo account.

‘MY FRIEND GOT $20’

Growing up, Lauren Zorlenzan, 41, of Copiague, a contractor for the government, used to get $2 bills from the Tooth Fairy, but that amount will no longer do the trick, she says. In addition to inflation, there’s the peer comparison to worry about, Zorlenzan says. "They go in and talk about it with their friends. ‘My friend got $20 and I only got $2,’" Zorlenzan says. Zorlenzan says once her daughter Lucinda, now 7, got a $20 for her first tooth, her daughter Lila, 5, expected she would receive the same for her first tooth, Zorlenzan says. 

When Rachel Anello’s older daughter, Lauren, lost her first tooth, the Tooth Fairy gave her $5, causing Lauren to opine upon awakening, "The Tooth Fairy is cheap. I only got $5," says Anello, 46, of Lake Ronkonkoma, who works providing recreation in a nursing home. "It was funny," Anello says. "I told her, ‘The Tooth Fairy’s got to give everybody money. She’s not rich.’"

Sometimes the Tooth Fairy gives extra money if a child has to have a tooth pulled, parents say. Anello says that wasn’t the case for Lucinda, now 9, who just got a molar taken out. "She got a lot of ice cream, that’s what she got," Anello says. Curatolo says her daughter asked if the Tooth Fairy might give her more money for her tooth with a filling because it has silver in it. The answer was "No."

SILVER DOLLARS, ROBLOX DOLLARS

At Michelle Acquaro’s house in Selden, the Tooth Fairy’s tiny door appears in the hallway near the children’s bedrooms whenever someone’s tooth gets extremely wobbly. "It’s a little pink door," says Acquaro, 42, a retired police officer. The Tooth Fairy leaves Emmalynn, now 9, and Amelia, now 7, silver dollars that they collect in a box in their bedrooms. "These silver dollars mean more to them than $20," Acquaro says. She says one year the Tooth Fairy did leave $10 and the girls said, "Where’s my coin?"

Valerie Maselli, 42, of Mastic Beach, who manages a law firm, says the Tooth Fairy purposely gives her son, Anthony, now 10, small toys such as Hot Wheels Monster Trucks instead of money to avoid comparison issues. "They can be happy about $5 until they find out their friend got $50," she says.

They can be happy about $5 until they find out their friend got $50.

— Valerie Maselli, 42, of Mastic Beach

Kerri Hennigan, 42, of Massapequa, who works in title insurance, says her daughter, Amelia, now 9, wonders why the Tooth Fairy can’t go digital like everyone else. Amelia plays the Roblox game on a tablet and players can purchase in-game items such as accessories for their characters. She couldn’t understand why the Tooth Fairy couldn’t just credit her Roblox account instead of leaving cash under her pillow, Hennigan says. Amelia ends up giving mom the money to add to her game account.

A GIFT CARD SAVE

The Tooth Fairy is capable of thinking creatively, says Chelsea Ramos, 33, a paralegal from Bay Shore. The Tooth Fairy was out of cash when Ramos’ daughter Rosalie lost a tooth, so she put a used Starbucks gift card under Rosalie’s pillow. "I wondered if she’d fall for it," Ramos says. Rosalie gave it to her mother, who then added $15 on the card.

"She was like, ‘Oh my god, I got a Starbucks gift card! How did she know I love Starbucks?" Ramos says. Now the Tooth Fairy does the same for each lost tooth for each of Ramos’ children, using gift cards from McDonald’s or Roblox, so that she doesn’t have to worry about going to the ATM.

Between Rosalie, now 12, and Ramos’ twin boys, Gavin and Liam, 8, the Tooth Fairy has delivered five gift cards in the past year, usually $15 each. "I feel like they know they can’t get anything at the store anymore with $5. Five dollars is now $1," Ramos says.

Ramos also has a 1-year-old daughter, Galilea, and expects the Tooth Fairy will continue to have to up her game as the years go by. "If the rate of inflation keeps going the way it is, she’s probably going to start out at $20," she says.