PAYMENTS from the Tooth Fairy are down by 10 per cent - and children in Brighton now get an average of £1.69 per gnasher, according to a new survey.

The figure in the city is down by 13p from £1.82 in the last four years.

A small minority of youngsters (2 per cent) get as much as £20 for each tooth that falls out - amounting to £400 for a full set of all 20 baby teeth.

Youngsters here get double the 80p per tooth gained by children in Newcastle.

The results came from a new survey of 2,000 parents by cosmetic dental brand Your Smile Direct.

The survey found that average payments nationally had dropped by 10 per cent from £2.10 to £1.90 since 2015.

More than a quarter (28%) of children get a £1 coin for each lost tooth, 24% get a £2 coin, and 14% get less than £1 - most typically 50p.

A further 11% get £5, 10% get £10, 3% get between £10 and £20 and 2% get more than £20.

Only 8% of kids never receive a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

Nine out of ten parents (91%) said their children under five believed in the Tooth Fairy - the same figure as for Santa Claus.

More than a third of parents (34%) said their children spent their Tooth Fairy money on sweets.

A further 33% spent it on toys, with saving (21%), books (7%) and clothes (5%) the other most popular answers.

Dr Mark-Anthony Shepherd, lead dentist for Your Smile Direct, said: “Even the Tooth Fairy is feeling the pinch!

“But it is great news that the Tooth Fairy is still visiting 92% of homes with children.

“It is a shame that a third of children are spending their Tooth Fairy money on sweets - that is the quickest way to ensure a further visit from the Tooth Fairy.”

Most children have a full set of 20 milk or baby teeth by the age of three and start losing them by the age of five or six. They tend to fall out in the same order they came, with the front centre lower teeth going first.

It takes six or more years to grow a full set of 28 adult teeth - 32 if you include wisdom teeth which arrive right at the back of the mouth around the age of 20.

Your Smile Direct offers dentist prescribed invisible aligner treatment which patients use at home - removing the need for repeated, costly dental visits.

It costs £1,599 - around a quarter of the price of teeth straightening with conventional dentists.

What do children buy with their Tooth Fairy money?

1 Sweets 34%

2 Toys 33%

3 They save it 21%

4 Books 7%

5 Clothes 5%

Most popular payments from the Tooth Fairy

1 £1 28%

2 £2 24%

3 Less than £1 - most typically 50p 14%

4 £5 11%

5 £10 10%

6 Nothing 8%

7 Between £10-£20 3%

8 More than £20 2%