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Plane captain's heartwarming note for girl, 6, who lost a tooth on board

An airline captain has been praised for his thoughtful gesture after a little girl on board his plane lost her tooth, but couldn't find where it was.

Lena and her family were flying from New York to their home state of South Carolina in the US, and on landing, the six-year-old noticed she was missing a tooth.

"When we got to baggage claim Lena realised her tooth was missing and must have fallen out," her mum Lauren Larmon told Yahoo News Australia.

"We tried to go back upstairs to see if we could get to the cleaning crew on the plane before they closed everything up, but of course, since it was 2 in the morning everything was closed."

Young girl with missing tooth at airport. Right: plane captain writes her a note.
Lena was upset that she'd lost her tooth and couldn't find it, so the captain of the plane stepped in to help. Source: Supplied/Lauren Larmon

The six-year-old was overcome with tears after a turbulent 36-hour delay.

"She was very concerned about losing her tooth because she always puts her lost teeth under her pillow for the tooth fairy," Ms Larmon said, and this time she thought she'd have nothing to leave.

Plane captain writes a letter to the tooth fairy

Eventually, the family ran into the cabin crew who had served them on board the United Airlines flight.

"Lena was already crying, she was very tired and emotional, and when the crew asked her what was wrong, she told them about her tooth being on the plane and having nothing to leave the tooth fairy," Ms Larmon explained to Yahoo.

"The pilot graciously took out a piece of paper and told her he had something to give the tooth fairy. He wrote her [a] note and handed it to her."

The grateful mum later shared a picture of the note on Facebook, thanking Captain Josh Duchow and his crew.

"Dear tooth fairy, Lena had a tooth fall out on her flight to Greenville, please take this note in place of her tooth," it read.

young girl smiling with missing tooth, handwritten letter to tooth fairy
Lena put the letter under her pillow and waited for the tooth fairy to come. Source: Supplied/Lauren Larmon

"Lena was very happy that the pilot wrote her a note to leave the tooth fairy," her mum told Yahoo, adding she was hopeful it would work.

When they arrived home on June 18, Lena placed the letter under her pillow, and when she woke, the tooth fairy had replied.

"Lena, it's okay. I'll find your tooth. Keep brushing," another note read.

Sweet gesture praised on social media

Social media users were blown away by the sweet gesture with dozens praising the airline staff.

"Oh my goodness! This is the absolute cutest thing ever," one wrote.

"Love this!!!! The world still has plenty of good in it," said another.

Meanwhile, another dubbed the captain a "wonderful guy" and said he will be Lena's "hero forever."

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