Dreaming of Teeth: The Meaning of Teeth in a Dream

 Before interpreting your own or another’s dreams, it is important to remember the following:

Dreams are a reflection of the dreamer’s inner world.  Each individual is greatly influenced by the world around them.  Dreams reflect the dreamer’s mental, emotional, and physical state.  Many dreams symbols and context reflect the dreamer’s beliefs and cultural influences.  Although only the dreamer truly knows what his/her dream means to them, this article explores what teeth typically symbolize to people.

Dream Interpretation is most effective when the dreamer is taking an active role in exploring and discovering the personal meaning of his/her dream and the symbol is analyzed within the context of the dream’s content, what emotions were evoked in the dreamer while he/she was experiencing the dream, and the current day-to-day influences of the dreamer.  It is important for the dreamer not only to recognize what meanings resonate most but what meanings produce a strong response.  If a dreamer is deeply offended or annoyed by an interpretation, this may hint at a possible issue the dreamer is attempting to deny or repress.  Incorrect interpretations help the dreamer eliminate the possibilities of what his/her dream means and are still useful.

 Teeth in a dream typically symbolize verbalization or social expression.  They also symbolize the dreamer’s sense of confidence socially.  Losing teeth tends to mean the inability to understand or communicate a personal issue.  Missing teeth can represent the dreamer’s lack of confidence in social situations, in self-expression, public speaking, or expressing intimate feelings.

Teeth are very important to all mammals.  They are necessary for survival.  Depending upon the context, teeth may symbolize aggression.  Picture a dog showing its teeth. 

Teeth have the ability to bite.  Their presence in a dream may symbolize that something is biting at or eating at the dreamer (i.e. bothering the dreamer).  Actually dreaming of biting another person may symbolize aggression and rage towards that person.  Being bit by something often symbolizes something that is “getting to you” or something that is getting under your skin.

 Dentures may symbolize loss integrity, insincerity, and loss of abilities/old age.  Dentures convey falseness.  The dreamer may have expressed false statements or has encountered an individual expressing false sentiments for personal and social gain.

 Losing teeth may symbolize the dreamer’s fears and anxieties associated with impotence or becoming less attractive with age.  Contrarily, losing teeth may also symbolize regression into childhood when losing teeth was common.

 Cavities, tooth pain or other tooth-related ailments often symbolize a harsh exchange of words.  This could symbolize either a tongue lashing the dreamer recently experienced or the dreamer’s regret of a verbal exchange with someone of their family, within the workplace or his/her lover.  This may also relate to a "sweet tooth" and may symbolize an intense relationship that had ended negatively for the dreamer.

 Having a root canal in a dream can be very powerful.  The emotion of the dreamer is very important when interpreting this particular symbol.  A root canal symbolizes the dreamer getting to the “root” of a long-term issue that has caused pain for the dreamer and has frequently resulted in the dreamer not expressing him/herself, using sarcasm as a defense mechanism, using bitter words towards others defensively to emotionally harm others before they have the opportunity to harm him/her, or simply putting on a brave smile while hiding pain.  The emotion felt by the dreamer during this dream is telling.  If this was a nightmare or anxiety-provoking dream, it could simply reflect the dreamer’s fear of dentistry or the dreamer’s fears of exploring this core issue that has permeated their life and affected their social behavior.  Being relieved and positive about the root canal indicates the individual has made tremendous personal progress towards resolving the long-term issue and moving on with more security, confidence, and new sincerity and genuineness in social and intimate relationships.

Losing teeth in a dream may mean the dreamer is starting a new phase of life.

Losing teeth may also be an omen that the dreamer is losing life force and is beginning to be ineffective in his/her current role.

In many cultures, loss of teeth corresponds to death due to natural and cultural dependence on teeth to eat and survive.  Dreaming of teeth in these cultures directly relate to dying or loss of health in the immediate future.

 It is important to note that dreams can mean so many things to each individual, at any given time and could even mean more than one thing within the same dream.  It is common for dreams to be layered in nature where a symbol may relate to something that occurred during the day, to our subconscious, to our spiritual growth, and to events in our childhood influencing our beliefs, thoughts, and behavior now.

Interpreting ones dreams can be a powerful way to gain insight into a world the individual to too busy to explore during waking hours.