The price for baby teeth is on the rise. Just let that sink in for a second so you can be prepared for the next bit of information. The national average paid per tooth …$3.70.
That’s according survey results just released by Visa, showing the price of the little chompers has risen 23 percent year over year. In 2012, the average was $3, up from 2011’s average of $2.60.
So a child sitting on a full set of 20 baby teeth has an average of $74 of net worth tied up in their little yapper. If the trend holds, a child may do well to hold on to their oral investment for as many years as he or she can, rather than spending their money in the volatile toy and candy markets.
And in the category of “There’s an app for that?” Visa has also complied all its data into an iPhone app that advises parents, based on their demographics, what their peers are shelling out per tooth.
So … I’m 29, live in Illinois, college educated, not married, two members in the family (the child is purely hypothetical), and my income level is … yeah, putting that online … and calculating, calculating … I should be giving my kid $3 per tooth.
What do you think? Is the Tooth Fairy putting a price fix on parents to keep the rate artificially high? Or are a few extra dollars warranted for a kid who has to spend the next few months looking like a starting forward on a minor league hockey team.
