Nom, asking people for help is hishtadlus. Asking malaachim, the aun and moon, or other such things, is avodah zara – it’s clear halacha. There’s a simple difference between tefilah and requesting help from other people.
And yes, asking a tooth fairy, which is, in the person’s mind, a spiritual entity, would also be avodah zara.
The only machlokes i care about is a machlokes in seforim; everything else is inconsequential to understanding hashkofa. Why should we care what individual simple jews thought?