At what age do you start brushing a baby's teeth?
15 Answers
What's the going rate for the tooth Fairy? What story do you tell your child?
What do you put under your child's pillow when they lose a tooth? Is there a special story you tell them about the tooth fairy?
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40 Answers
12 Votes
I think it doesn't really mater how much you put under the pillow/in the envelope/in the tooth holder pillow....what matters is that you acknowledge that it's a fun and exciting occasion. I don't think $1 is cheap and my husband handed out a $5 for our daughter's first tooth (too much in my opinion). There's no right or wrong ;)
A friend wrote a letter when her daughter lost her first tooth and told her that she was happy to see she was taking care of her teeth well and that it's important to brush well because the tooth fairy doesn't leave money for rotten teeth ;)
When my brother (12 years younger than me) lost his first tooth, my sister and I rubbed some glittery/shimmery eye shadow on the corner of the dollar bill. when he showed us what he got we looked closely and excitedly pointed out the "fairy dust"....he was REALLY excited.
I have continued the dust tradition with my kids' first few teeth. It's a hit!
Yes, one day they will figure out that there isn't a Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause or an Easter Bunny, but let them enjoy it while they can. We all lived past the realization that it was our parents bringing us gifts all those years...and it was FAR outweighed by years of fun & excitement we enjoyed.
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Susan - commented on Sep 29, 2011
I LOVE the idea of telling them that it's important to brush well because the tooth fairy doesn't leave money for rotten teeth!! I am definitely going to go buy some glitter to use as fairy dust when it happens! He is 5, so it is happening soon!
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Jeannie - commented on Sep 29, 2011
My kids have a trooth fairy and her name is Penelope..i created her when my daughter was 6 when she first lost her tooth. and she is now 12. and she knows that penelope isnt real she figured it out. but my 2 younger boys believe in her. and she helps them believe in her. and she and i tell she dont take rotten teeth. when i created her. 6 years ago. my daughter wrote a letter to her and asked questions about where she came from and where she lived and how big she was and what she looked like. i had so much fun creating her. and she wanted to know what they did with the teeth. i wrote her back using my right hand since im left handed. so she wouldnt reconize my hand writing. i have saved everyone ot the letters that she has written to her and her teeth.
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April - commented on Sep 30, 2011
That letter was genius!! I love the fairy dust idea too!! Mine is 5 and will be starting to lose his teeth soon also! I'm going to have to find some fairy glitter too!!
9 Votes
In my house the going rate is $5.00 for the first and last tooth, $1.00 for the rest. The tooth fairy doesn't come if the room isn't clean and if the tooth isn't in a plastic sandwich bag. That happened because the tooth fairy forgot one evening and had to find a reason!
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Lisa - commented on Oct 3, 2011
LOL!!! I have had those forgetful nights! Boy, ya feel like an idiot! LOL. Hey, I wish I was that quick on my feet, those are great reasons for the tooth fairy not coming! It looks like from what I have read so far that we have been in the norm for the going rate. Five bucks for the first tooth and $1 for each one after that. However, I love the other ideas posted on here as well. Great ideas from some creative moms!
6 Votes
My daughter lost her fist tooth on Christmas Eve at a huge family party. I was so excited for her I didn't think to go to the bank and since all I had was a $20, that's what she got. I sprinkled a little glitter on the window sill and under her pillow and she was sooooo excited. That became tradition. The last time she lost a tooth, once again I was not prepared so I had to improvise and use cupcake sprinkles. Money's not an issue with most kids, they go crazy for the glitter and excitement. My daughter is 6 and I'd hate to stop with the tradition. She's an only child so luckily she has no older siblings to "ruin" it for her. Let there be magic for as long as you can.
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Bethany - commented on Oct 13, 2011
my daughter has gotten a $20 bill too....all because she waits until the last minute of the day and the "tooth fairy" doesn't have smaller bills sometimes!
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Aimey - commented on Jan 1, 2012
holy crap that's nuts!! $5-$20 that's just crazy!!! sorry i'm witht he $1- $2 ... i dont think its right for kids to think that they get all this money for losing teeth.. same with going crazy at christmas. my son knows the meaning and there are kids that don't get anything so we have what i call a 'normal' christmas cause you don't want kids first of all to think it's all about presents then you have to explain if something happens when ya don't have a year of money so better to just not through it all out there of stress. i mean just think of what christmas was like back in the day!! nothing like it is now!!
5 Votes
I put a $1 coin under my kids pillow. It is more exciting then regular dollar bills. The kids love it and its something they end up saving till there older instead of spending. It becomes more of a memory. You can continue it with every tooth which makes it more real for the kids instead of always having a different amount for every tooth. My kids loving showing off there coins and they only cost me a $1.
5 Votes
With my son, we read stories about the tooth fairy and tried to answer questions he might have. A great story to read is The Night Before ...Toothfairy.
My son got $3 for his first tooth, a new toothbrush, and a little prize.
For every subsequent tooth he receives two dollars in the gold coins. He loves that because he thinks that they are gold!
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Tanya - commented on Aug 9, 2011
I love the idea of giving a new toothbrush and little prize--that is what I am going to do next time he loses a tooth!
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Rebecca - commented on Aug 14, 2011
I don't know why but I never thought of that. When my 6 year old eventually loses his first tooth, I'll get him a new toothbrush.
4 Votes
My tooth fairy is a little stingy! My 6 year old hasn't lost any teeth yet but my 11 year old has lost quite a few! I think I started off giving him 20p when he lost his first couple of teeth (that's the same as I had I think). But now, with inflation and everything, it's increased to 50p!
There is no story or anything. If you intend to give him money for a tooth, you do need to explain why. I told mine that, when his tooth came out, he was to put it under the pillow and see what happened. He did. The tooth fairy left him the money and I ask him in the morning what he had found. I told him what I remember being told. That was that the tooth fairy needs the teeth to build her fairy castle so she pays for the teeth that fall out.
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Kerry - commented on Oct 13, 2011
my son lost his first tooth at the age of 5 3/4 yesterday. He wrote the fairy a letter to ask her to use his lovely baby tooth as a brick for building her castle - he also decided to put a letter on the back - when I looked it was a picture of him with his missing tooth in exactly the place where he had lost it. the tooth fairy left a "first lost tooth" letter who told him she knew he had been brushing his teeth really nicely. I wish I'd thought of the "fairy dust". She also left £1.50 in a little jewellery pouch inside his letter , which said he was getting a bit more as it was his first tooth. Subsequent teeth will get £1 but I don't believe that the money is important - it is the story and the magic of it all. I also took a photo of him in his bed holding his tooth and showing his gap proudly - he was soooo exited last night and this morning when he realised the tooth fairy had visited.
4 Votes
I don't think kids should get much for losing teeth. Kids expect so much these days for anything they do. That is not reality. My son has lost 2 teeth. For the first tooth he got a Susan B. Anthony dollar coin and for his second he got a gold dollar coin. I am a teacher and the stories from my students about what they had gotten for their teeth were unbelievable. Parents must be loaded or just plain stupid to give away that kind of money to a child...$10, $20! Just for 1 tooth!
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Kathy - commented on Sep 29, 2011
Some times parents don't have change! Our daughter lost her first 2 teeth the same night & when we were getting ready to put the $ under her pillow neither my husband or I had anything smaller than a $20! It was already 10:30 at night and all the local stores were closed. It was crazy, I agree to give the $20 but we were SOL, haha! After that we worked our way down to $5 , then $2 and finally a Dollar. Stating that the first teeth are special, so you get more at the beginning...kind of incentive;-) Now the problem was when our son just lost his tooth I only put $2 and he was so sad because his sister got the $20! We really screwed up by setting that precedence and now always keep change on us! Just so you know, we are not all loaded or crazy...just stuck w/o change and can NOT leave nothing. Thanks for listening to the other side:-)
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Rachel - commented on Oct 12, 2011
"kind of incentive" they can start knocking each others teeth out every time they want a new video game. is that the kind of INCENTIVE you are talking about.
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Jennifer - commented on Oct 12, 2011
When my daughter lost her first tooth all I was in the same situation as Kathy. I dug up $2 in quarters and taped them all together so I could get them under her pillow without making noise. It all worked out, my daughter thought that the tooth fairy had ran out of dollars. When she lost her second tooth I gave her $2 again and I'm sure I will continue to.
3 Votes
I think if you start early and low then they won't expect too much as just getting anything is special. Big teeth like molars and front teeth in our house are worth more as they are "special" onces whch normally get the kids $2 others get no more than $1. This may seem cheap to some but we try to teach value for more and that money doesn't grow on trees.
3 Votes
My son gets $5 for each tooth. Yes, it gets expensive, especially since he has lost 3 teeth in the past 2.5 weeks. However, when he wants something, he has his tooth fairy money to buy it himself.
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Tracy - commented on Aug 18, 2011
My friend had a really cute idea that I wish I had thought of when the tooth fairy first came to our house. Her daughter puts a cup of water on the table beside her bed and if the water is pink in the morning, the tooth fairy that visited her was a girl and blue means a boy fairy was there. She uses a drop of food coloring for the cup.
3 Votes
I told my daughter that the Tooth Fairy is like Tinkerbell. Completely fell for it. However, I have one of those kiddos that wants to know how does Tinkerbell, Santa Clause, etc get in the house. I told her Tink uses pixie dust. If he doesn't ask - don't explain. If he does - say that the Tooth Fairy visits when a tooth falls out. You don't have to give money. I did, but it was $1 for the first tooth, $2 for the second. I've capped it at $4. I've been told I was cheap. However, a $1 is a lot of money to a kid. :)
2 Votes
My older son was 8 before he lost a tooth, and he has Aspergers Syndrome. He came home from school and told me that I owed him $1 for his tooth.
2 Votes
I have given $5 for the first tooth and 1 gold dollar coin for all the rest. I think the new toothbrush is a cute idea too.
2 Votes
My son gets a $1 bill wrapped around a pack of sugarless Trident gum. This is the only gum he gets, and since it is sugarless, it won't hurt his teeth. I explain to him that the toothfairy wants you to be good to your teeth and try not to eat too much sugar.
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Susan - commented on Sep 29, 2011
I like the idea of leaving sugarless gum! He is only 5, so is not picky yet about gum. When his tooth is loose, I'll have to prepare by buying some.
1 Vote
In our house we pay $2 for the first tooth, $1 for each tooth after that unless there is a filling or cavity, in which case we give 25 cents. Incentive to brush!
1 Vote
Our boys (ages 8,8 & 6) collect coins, so we wanted to make sure 'their' tooth fairy gave them something interesting. For each tooth, they get a presidential dollar coin (the golden dollars) and a two-dollar bill paper airplane. The paper airplane was a quick fix when I realized someone's tooth fairy slept through the big event. Their fairy has really bad aim with her airplanes and my son found it under the bed the next day. Had to be a special fix, since the kid made me cry with how sad he was that the fairy forgot him. Now, our fairy regularly throws the airplanes into the blinds, under the bed...wherever. The kiddos are debating whether we have a boy fairy or a girl since his or her aim is so awful. :)
1 Vote
My son got $5 for his first tooth, and was upset that it wasn't $1,000 like he wanted. Lol. So the tooth fairy was a little hurt that he was ungrateful and I told him he should write her an apology note for hurting her feelings. He refused and she never came for tooth number 2. Tooth number 3 is now loose and we started talking about that apology note again. It has now been written and sent, and I forewarned him that you don't get as much for your other teeth, so he may only get a dollar or two and he is ok with that now :)
1 Vote
Even before our daughter lost her first tooth she told us she was hoping that the tooth fairy left her $20 a tooth, as the tooth fairy I quickly informed her that the TF had children all over the world to leave money for so she had a better chance of getting hit by lighting then him leaving her $20 a tooth. When the time came and she lost her first tooth, she worked at it for days to get it out and it finally came out one morning while she was brushing her teeth, she was soooo excited, I on the other hand was not, it was a week before payday and we seriously didn't have any extra money to leave until payday. I thought about it all day and at dinner that night I had to tell my excited 6 yr old that the tooth fairy wasn't coming that night, my reason: He sent me and EMAIL telling me that he was on vacation and that he would be back the following Thursday (payday). Of course she was disappointed but not as much when she found out that I had an email from him, which I promised to show her the next morning. That night after she was in bed I sat down at the computer and created an email account for the tooth fairy and sent my daughter an email from him explaining that he was very sorry he couldn't be there for her special night but promising that she would his first stop in Thursday night. I made sure to sign it as the tooth fairy so she didn't have any idea that there is no tooth fair. The next morning my daughter came in waking me up at 630 asking to see the email from the tooth fairy, and she was THRILLED. The following week, just like he promised she was his first stop, leaving her $1.25. Now 5 teeth later, everytime she loses a tooth we have to email the tooth fairy to see if he is on vacation or if it ok to leave her tooth under the pillow (in a baggie with her name and the date she lost it on the baggie). She usually only gets 1.25 a tooth with the exception of last time and the tooth fairy emailed to let her know that she had only gotten $2 because he had ran out of change that night. She loves the idea of being able to email him and it gives me an out if we don't have the extra money when she loses her teeth.
1 Vote
We started out giving one dollar then increased it to two dollars. What is hard is when your child comes home from playing with her friends and they tell her what they got from the tooth fairy ( $5 and a purse and toys, etc.) and your daughter's tooth fairy does not deliver that kind of stuff. I think some parents go overboard with it and it causes other children to question why they did not receive those types of things. It makes it hard to explain to your child.
1 Vote
The first tooth got $5. The rest get $1.
1 Vote
our tooth fairy gave our boys $5.00 for the first tooth and $1.00 for each tooth after that.
1 Vote
My step-daughter got $5 for her first tooth and a special little present-a toothfairy trinket box to put on her nightstand and when she lost her next tooth it went in there (so much easier to get a tooth out of there and put money in than to reach under their pillow when they are sleeping), thereafter she got $1 per tooth. My daughter got the same except I couldn't find another toothfairy trinket box so she got a toothfairy kit that came with a book to keep track of the dates she lost her teeth, a small storybook explaining the toothfairy and a tiny pillow she put on her dresser that has a small pocket just big enough for a tooth and a dollar. All the rest of her teeth she got a gold dollar (be prepared for this, I got several beforehand and kept them hidden until they were needed) except she did get $2 one night when the toothfairy forgot the night before (oops) and $5 each when she had to have 2 teeth pulled by the dentist as they were just not falling out but were being pushed over. You can search online too for cute little printable letters/certificates from the tooth fairy.
As for a story, I pretty much told them the tooth fairy uses the teeth to build her castle since my first response to my step daughter, "I don't know what the tooth fairy does with the tooth" was simply not a good enough answer for her so I told her I would research it the next day and that night when the tooth fairy came to get the tooth she left her a letter thanking her for the tooth and explaining it was so she could build her castle. Good luck!
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Susan - commented on Sep 29, 2011
I LOVE the idea of a Tooth Fairy trinket box! Although, since I have a boy, we will call it a Tooth Fairy Treasure Chest. I will have to find one! Online printable letters/certificates from the Tooth Fairy! I can do that! Yaay! Thank you for the ideas!
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Jessica - commented on Sep 29, 2011
I was actually looking for one today (my son is 5, not quite ready yet but your question reminded me it's probably time to get prepared, lol) and I saw this: http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/pirate-tooth-chest/productinfo/32153/ but if you are at all crafty, the craft stores sell these little boxes and it wouldn"t need much more than a little paint, some tiny beads if you want handles and maybe some cushioning like cotton balls inside, then you could even personalize it with his name.
1 Vote
Well my house hold has a funny story to go with it. We live in a world where people have got Gold caps on their teeth. So going back to when my kids where 3 and 4 yrs old, they always talked about losing their teeth, the tooth fairy is going to give them a Gold tooth. LOL I found this to be so funny. So then the day came that my first son lost his tooth. He was so happy, he ran to the bathroom, looked in his mouth to see if he had a Gold tooth yet. (Like it's going to be magic, Poof it's there, Not!) I told him at bed time we place it under his pillow and THEN the tooth fairy will leave you a Gold tooth. That night we did just that. While he was asleep I stuck the tooth on the end of a toothpick, painted it with Gold nail polish, let it dry and then placed it with a $5 bill back under his pillow. He LOVED it!! However from there on out all the other teeth he has lost, he gets a Gold $1 coin and new book to read. The kids love the tooth fairy! ♥ Good Luck on how you chose to introduce your child to the tooth fairy. Most of all Enjoy the happiness that comes with it!
1 Vote
My kids get $5 a tooth. Sometimes the tooth fairy doesn't come for a few nights! The tooth fairy is very busy putting only the best and cleanest teeth in the sky! Really it's just me who forgets. We have a tooth fairy (for my daughter) and a tooth pixie (for my son) and they have a pocket to put the tooth in and then replaced with the money. I think my daughter got a small gift also for the first tooth but that soon ended - now it's just money to go in her money box. We also have a couple of tooth fairy books ánd read them occassionally. She still believes - I think!
1 Vote
Our kids get $2 a tooth, and they put it in their own little wallets to save to make purchases. We allow them to buy what they want with the money, but explain why waiting and saving will allow them to buy a larger gift. They ususally earn 25-50 for chores and tasks that we ask them to do, and normally not more than a dollar a week, so a $2 hit to the wallet really excites them! We don't do the toothbrush thing just because they get a new toothbrush from the dentist every 6 months, so there is no excitement in that. And small gifts can be a challenge if a tooth is lost before you are prepared with a gift. The toothfairy can't always jump on a dime like that, so we just do cold, hard cash :)
1 Vote
For the first tooth, we gave the kids a gold dollar coin as a keepsake and a small toy $1-$2 range. Boys are easier for the toy, because all you need is a Hotwheel's car. For my 6 year-old girl I found a clearance Littlest Pet Shop toy. My sister in-law always gave makeup.
Remember to buy some things now and hide them away, because the tooth can come out at anytime. Also, I recommend a tooth pillow or special box so that items don't have to be placed under the pillow. Much easier for the tooth fairy to sneak in if she doesn't have to reach under somebody's head.
1 Vote
My kids get a gold dollar for theirs, I remember getting a quarter as a kid. But I also have 3 kids in the tooth loosing age, so all I can do is the gold dollar. I think kids get a kick out of it no matter what they get.
1 Vote
For the first tooth, since it was such a special milestone, I gave my daughter a couple of necklaces (from Clair's Boutique), and two quarters. For each tooth afterwards, I gave her one dollar. When she started learning about money in 1st grade, she got a dollar in coins, to help her practice counting money.
1 Vote
We always give our son a $2.00 bill. He saves them each time and I told him that the tooth fairy wanted him to save them and that it was ok for me to buy him something when we went to the store. So I know its kinda mean for him not to be able to spend it but it does teach them to save money. The only thing is, is one night the toothfairy forgot to visit when he lost a tooth, so the very next morning he lost another one, needless to say since the tooth fairy forgot he got a 10.00 bill 5.00 for each tooth! Because the tooth fairy felt so bad! The good thing is, is he loves the 2.00 bills!
1 Vote
My friend has her kids decorate an envelope to put the tooth in and place under their pillow. I think that is really cute. when I was growing up we would put the tooth in a cup of water on the kitchen window sill. When we woke up the next morning there would be money in the cup. Mind you, we felt lucky if there was at least one quarter in there! :)
1 Vote
just let him know that the tooth fairy will pay him a visit when his asleep but if he is awake he will not come and there wont be a surprise for him under the pillow in the morning.its fun to give them an adventure and mistery
0 Votes
I use the "golden dollars" for tooth fairy money. We never use them as money. We go to the bank and get the shiniest ones they have so they are extra special. We gave her them (I have 2 daughters, ages 9 and 15 now) 2 dollars for their first teeth (which the tooth fairy leaves for us to keep as keepsakes) and one for each one after that. We also don't give money for rotten teeth so they better brush brush brush! I love the fairy dust idea, how clever! Since my daughter is 9 she is starting to doubt things so I sadly probably won't be doing this much longer. They grow up so fast and I will miss the "magic" of her running out excited that the tooth fairy came with her golden dollar!
0 Votes
I always told my 2 daughters that having a clean and healthy mouth is important. My oldest just now lost her first tooth she receive $6 she was so happy, she said she got $6 because she was 6 I told her that was true but also because her teeth are healthy but not to expect $6 all the time because if her brushing habits decreased or if she didn't take care of them the tooth fairy would not be happy since she only gives $6 when their teeth that are well taken care of. Also my daughter understands the importance of money she took her money and put it in her piggy bank which goes to her saving bank. I like the new toothbrush idea, thanks for sharing.
0 Votes
well i think the rate will be 1 tooth 2-3 bucks 2 teeth duble one of them
0 Votes
Unfortunately, some parents pay too much for the Tooth Fairy. My friend gave her little boy $10.00 for his first tooth. Now he expects $10.00 every time. Kids also tell their friends how much they got for the tooth, not good if your child gets $10.00 and another kid only get $.50.
0 Votes
We did $5 for the first tooth and after that we did $1. The "tooth fairy" leaves a tooth shaped noted under the pillow to remind my daughter to brush her teeth and she will come back for the next tooth. My daughter seemed to be believeing it for some time but with the last tooth out I noticed she asked me how much she was going to get. I guess the dream was still alive for just me alone. LOL. The great part is that with every tooth I have tucked away there is a drawing or a note from my daughter. I can't wait to show her when she is all grown and playing the tooth fairy role herself what she used to do.
0 Votes
Good question. For us it is whatever cash we can find lying around :/" Seriously, $5.00 is what we give. But our kids have friends who have received 20's!
0 Votes
My boys draw a picture and/or write a letter to the tooth fairy and include it with their tooth under their pillow (it's cool to loo back at all thier little notes and drawings), then the tooth fairy writes a little note back, talking about the drawing or note and reminding them to brush their teeth. They get a loonie, a quarter, a dime, a nickle and a penny ($1.41) for front teeth and a twoonie, a loonie, a quarter, a dime, a nickle and a penny ($3.41) for molars. They also get a pack of Extra gum because it actually has stuff that's good for teeth in it. Once my son got a toothbrush and toothpaste instead of gu because he asked the toothfairy for a toothbrush and toothpaste ;)
0 Votes
For my son's first tooth he got five dollars and some super-cool and colorful tooth flossers shaped like animals and a little note from the toothfairy (written in glitter). Every tooth thereafter has been one dollar. Even if there weren't any ones hanging around this toothfairy would scrape up some quarters or something (even if those said quarters had to be borrowed from the boys own piggy bank...) rather than handing out twenties. That is a bit rich for the tooth fairy!!
A friend of mine took her som to the doctors and since his teeth are really soft he had to have 7 teeth pulled and the tooth fairy gave him forty dollars! I was in shock!! She said she felt bad because he was in pain and I said get the kids some sugar-free popsicles and put ten bucks under his pillow!
0 Votes
My sons first tooth I put 2$ in a little bag, with a note signed by the 'tooth fairy' telling him how proud she was that he takes good care of his teeth and how important it is to care for his adult teeth. He lit up like a christmas tree. I remember my first tooth I lost my mom tried to write me a cheque. Needless to say my dreams of the real tooth fairy ended that day. Lol. I really like the fairy dust idea, that's cute.
0 Votes
The tooth fairy gave our daughter $5.00 for her first tooth because it was a special occassion! She gives$1.00 for each after it but the toothfairy does not give $ for teeth that have not been brushed.
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