Dream of Teeth: Meaning, Symbolism and Possible Readings

← Back to Dream dictionary

A very common and very unpleasant dream

You run your tongue over your teeth and one of them moves. It comes loose, then another. Or they crumble in your mouth, or fall out by the handful into your palm. Waking is often abrupt: you check with your tongue that everything is still in place.

Teeth are among the themes most often reported in surveys of “typical dreams”: they turn up in very different cultures, which has long intrigued researchers. It is not a sign of illness or a warning, simply a striking dream that is easy to remember.

As on every page of this dictionary, what follows offers readings: leads for reflection. Nothing is being predicted for you.

What the traditions say

In Artemidorus of Daldis' Oneirocritica (2nd century), teeth are compared to the members of the family or household: the mouth is like a house and the teeth are its inhabitants, with a distinction between upper and lower teeth, and between right and left. In this ancient logic, losing a tooth therefore became a worry about a close relative. It is a system of analogies typical of its time.

European folklore took up and simplified the idea: in several regions, it is said that dreaming of teeth falling out foretells a death in the family. This popular belief has no verified basis. Millions of people have this dream, and nothing shows a link with real events. If you have had this dream and the idea disturbs you, know that it is an oral tradition, not an observation.

Teeth also hold a special place in the imagination: they mark childhood (the milk tooth hidden for the tooth fairy), age (teeth that wear down), strength (“avoir les dents longues”, to be hungry for success; “gritting your teeth”). Many French expressions speak of teeth (“avoir les dents longues” means to be ambitious), and in them one can recognise what the dream stages.

Psychological readings

Several readings coexist.

The classical psychoanalytic reading sees in the loss of teeth a theme of separation, of symbolic castration or of passage (Freud also mentioned links with sexuality). These readings are historical and contested.

The Jungian reading focuses on life transitions: losing a milk tooth means growing up; a dream of teeth falling out would therefore accompany changes, bereavements, losses of reference points or of personal power.

A third lead is bodily. A study by Naama Rozen and Nirit Soffer-Dudek, published in 2018 in Frontiers in Psychology with 210 students, compared two hypotheses: that dreams of teeth reflect psychological distress, or that they incorporate real irritation of the teeth, gums or jaw. The results, which the authors present as preliminary, support the second idea: these dreams were linked to dental tension on waking, not to measured distress. Teeth clenching or grinding during sleep (bruxism) is a possible cause of such tension. A single study of this kind does not settle everything, but it invites us not to read everything symbolically.

Depending on the context of the dream

In the dream	Possible reading
Only one tooth moves	A precise point of fragility: a situation that is worrying you
All the teeth fall out	A broader feeling of loss: of control, of reference points, of trust
You spit them out in front of everyone	Fear of judgement, shame about your appearance or your words
The teeth grow back	Renewal, an ability to rebuild yourself
The tooth falls out without pain	Detachment, a change endured without really noticing it
You are at the dentist's	A need to take care of yourself, or a real concern for your oral health

On waking, notice your jaw: is it tense, painful? Do you have a toothache? This can change the reading.

Some possible readings

• The fear of losing a reference point, a status, a person, an ability.
• A life passage: the end of a period, ageing, a change of role.
• Speech and appearance: teeth show when you smile or speak. A situation in which you fear saying the wrong thing or being badly seen.
• Bodily tension: a clenched jaw, grinding, dental pain.
• Worry for a relative, as Artemidorus suggested with his analogies, but with no value as an omen.

Questions to reflect on

• What am I afraid of losing at the moment?
• Is there a moment in my daily life when I “grit my teeth”?
• What do I struggle to say, or to show of myself?
• Is my jaw tense in the morning? When did I last see my dentist?
• What change is under way in my life?

To keep a journal of these observations, see Keeping a Dream Journal.

Warning

A dream of teeth says nothing about the future and does not replace medical advice. If you have pain in your teeth, gums, jaw or head on waking, or if you grind your teeth, see a dentist or a doctor: only a professional can establish the cause. If the idea of the death of a loved one, triggered by this dream or by popular belief, makes you anxious, talk about it with someone. In distress, 3114 (suicide prevention, 24 hours a day, in France) is there to listen; for emergencies, call 15 (in France, emergency medical services), 17 (police) or 112 (the emergency number across the European Union).

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Dream dictionary.