NATIONWIDE -- Apparently the tooth fairy is pinching pennies.

• New survey says the cost for a lost tooth is down 43 cents this year
• The average payout for a tooth was $4.13 last year; this year it's $3.70
• In the South, kids receive, on average, $3.91 a tooth

The cost for a lost tooth is down 43 cents, according to the yearly survey from Delta Dental.

Researchers there say the average payout for a tooth is $3.70, while a first lost tooth is worth $4.96.

Last year a tooth went for $4.13, and the first lost tooth earned $4.50.

For some reason geography plays a factor for tooth worth.

Children in the West average about $4.13 per tooth while kids in the South get $3.91.

In the Northeast a tooth can get you $3.75.

Meanwhile teeth in the Midwest earn the least, a mere $2.97.