Sir, seasons' greetings and I trust you are feeling the festive spirit.

Sadly, I have to bring to your attention an issue which has been raised by my hard-working colleagues, who have their work cut out for them 365 days a year, and not just on December 24.

We at the British Tooth Fairy Association (BTFA) have been receiving growing numbers of complaints from members that patients are often leaving adult teeth underneath their pillows, hoping to receive the statutory payment – currently set at the annual 'retainer' fee of £1.

We must remind your readers – in the hope that they will pass on this information to their patients – that only baby teeth are eligible for these payments.

People must not claim for adult teeth as these are not covered by our Tooth Fairy Fair Policy regulations as created on the Twelfth of Never, Time Immemorial.

We do, however, recommend that patients continue to embrace the 'long-in-the-tooth' policy of encouraging their children to place their baby teeth under their pillow at night to help them cope with the discomfort of this inevitable process.

This deciduously long tradition is, after all, what keeps us in business for the 364 remaining days of the year when Mr Claus is taking his time preparing for the next annual gift jamboree of December 24.

We trust your readers will hear our plea with a sympathetic ear and remember when they themselves benefitted from the deep-rooted practice enjoyed under the 'baby tooth cash reimbursement scheme'.

Note to readers

These letters have been created for the entertainment of readers in the spirit of seasonal good humour and, on the whole, are entirely fictional.