It's a quarter to seven. A small person is standing by your bed holding a tooth in an envelope, and the expression on their face is somewhere between confusion and heartbreak. The Tooth Fairy didn't come.

First, breathe. This happens in a great many homes, usually after nights that were busy, late or simply long. The good news is that a missed visit is one of the easiest magical mishaps to fix, and handled well, it often becomes a favourite family story. Here's how the Department of Teeth recommends handling it.

Step one: buy a little time

Before you explain anything, give yourself a moment. A gentle “Oh no, let's have another look” is a perfectly reasonable response, and it gives you a few minutes to think.

Many families have success with a second search. Tooth envelopes are small, pillows are big and sheets are full of folds; deliveries slip out of sight more easily than you'd expect. Authorised grown-ups are encouraged to help the search along, and it may help to look in the most likely spots first while your child fetches their slippers. Sometimes the morning solves itself.

Step two: give an official explanation

If the second search turns up nothing, it's time for an explanation, and children are far more accepting of an official one than an improvised one. The Tooth Fairy is extremely busy. Some nights the route is longer than usual; some nights there's fog over the rooftops, a surge in lost teeth across the region or a fairy off sick with a sprained wing.

The key is to make the explanation feel like information, not an excuse. That's what the Bureau's Delay Notice is for: an official form from the Department of Teeth that apologises for the delay, gives a reason and confirms a new visit for tonight. Children tend to find a reference number and a formal apology rather thrilling. You can print one in under a minute while the toast is on.

If you'd rather not print anything, a spoken version works too. Keep it calm and matter-of-fact: the tooth is safe, the Tooth Fairy knows, and the visit will happen tonight.

Explanations that work

Good explanations are kind to everyone involved: your child, the Tooth Fairy and the general reputation of magic. A few that families find useful:

• Weather: heavy fog or strong winds grounded every flight in the area.
• Volume: it was a record night for lost teeth, and the route ran over.
• Inspection: the tooth was in such excellent condition that it needed a special review.
• Forwarding: the tooth was lost away from home, and the change of address took a night to process.
• Training: a brand-new fairy was on the route and took a wrong turn at the chimneys.

What to avoid

Avoid anything that puts the blame on your child, such as “maybe the tooth wasn't clean enough” or “maybe you weren't really asleep”. A missed visit should never feel like a judgement. Avoid anything frightening, too: no stories about the Tooth Fairy being hurt or in danger. A sprained wing is about the limit.

It's also worth resisting the urge to over-explain. Children often accept a short, confident answer more readily than a long, anxious one. Say it once, warmly, and move on to the exciting part: tonight's visit.

Making tonight's visit count

The second night is your chance to turn the story around. Many families add a small extra to the usual exchange, presented as a late fee or an apology from the Department. It doesn't need to be money: a sticker, a note or a slightly grander receipt does the job beautifully.

A Tooth Fairy receipt is a nice touch here, because it gives the visit a clear record: tooth received, condition noted, delay acknowledged, case closed. Some children keep these for years. If you'd like the receipt to mention the delay specifically, the personalised version can do that.

And if the tooth itself has gone missing in the excitement, which does happen, the Lost or Swallowed Tooth Affidavit lets the claim be processed without it.

Preventing a repeat

Once is a story. Twice starts to look like a pattern. A few simple habits help the Department stay on schedule:

• Set a phone reminder the moment a tooth comes out, labelled something discreet like “TF”.
• Keep a small Tooth Fairy supply kit (a spare envelope, a printed receipt, whatever your household's usual exchange is) somewhere easy to reach.
• Agree in advance which grown-up is on liaison duty that night.
• Save a receipt with your child's name as a PDF so it's ready to print in seconds.

If your child is upset

Some children take a missed visit in their stride; others are genuinely disappointed, especially with an early tooth. Acknowledge the feeling before you fix it: “You were really looking forward to that. I'd be disappointed too.” Then move on to the plan. Feeling heard often matters more than the explanation itself.

If your child is starting to ask detailed questions about how the Tooth Fairy's operation works, you may be approaching a different conversation altogether. Our guide to the Junior Agent approach, written for Christmas, adapts well to teeth: rather than a yes or a no, children are welcomed into the work of keeping the magic going for others.