Dream Meanings - Tooth Loss Dreams

When we're children, tooth loss is often an exciting event, not only due to the scheduled visit of always generous tooth fairy, but also due to the knowledge that we're growing up. So now that we're grown up, why are dreams of losing teeth more such nightmares?

The most obvious reason is because when we're all grown up, our teeth fall out primarily not because we're growing up but because we're growing old--or because we're growing ill. Either way, tooth loss indicates a visit from not quite as benevolent as the tooth fairy.

The most important component in tooth loss dreams is often not the imagery but the emotional content of the dream. These dreams leave behind more than a missing space in a mental picture; they leave behind a hole in the heart. There is just something positively disconcerting about dreams involving tooth loss.

What is it that makes these dreams so disconcerting? The answer can be summed up in one word:

Fear.

What that fear is varies between individuals, but here are some of the top fears that tooth loss nightmares symbolize.

Powerlessness

Sometimes dream teeth crumble away, sometimes they dissolve, sometimes one will fall out then the rest follow suit, sometimes one simply opens one's mouth to a gummy smile. It doesn't really matter how the teeth leave the gums, what matters is the feeling as one discovers their exit from the gums. Usually what one feels is an overwhelming sense of powerlessness--the teeth are falling out and there is nothing that can stop them.

The powerlessness over the lost teeth typically symbolizes a waking life situation over which one feels one has no control, one over which one feels one has no voice in determining the outcome. It is important to ascertain whether or not this is true. Certainly one has no voice in mortality issues, but sometimes one may feel as though one has no say in issues where the opposite is true.

For example, if one feels mistreated at work, speaking to a supervisor may help. Or, if one feels neglected in a relationship, it's time to speak up. If speaking up hasn't helped, it may be time to move on. Sometimes it isn't that we're completely powerless--it's just that we're powerless to make things turn out the way we'd like.

Fear of Failure or Embarrassment

People who are embarrassed about the appearance of their teeth will sometimes cover their mouths when smiling or even talking. In dreams, lost teeth can point to a similar feeling of embarrassment--specifically embarrassment over saying the wrong thing, or over fear of looking foolish. Look to your waking life and see if there is something you aren't saying or some task you aren't undertaking for fear of looking foolish. Or, check and make sure there isn't something going on that you feel must be covered up or secrets that you are in danger of spilling.

Abandonment

Just as we are helpless to stop teeth from falling out in dreams, so are we also oftentimes unable to stop abandonment. Jobs are suddenly lost. Lovers suddenly leave. Friends quietly go missing in times of need. Families fail us. Dreams of losing teeth can mirror waking life fears of abandonment.

What is key here is to ascertain whether one has actually been abandoned or if one feels as if one were abandoned--the two are entirely different. Actual abandonment requires a reassessment of one's life and life connections and the establishment of new ones. Fear of abandonment can be a long-standing issue, sometimes from as far back as early childhood. Fear of abandonment can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, not only in driving away those with whom one is involved but by attracting those who will abandon one in the first place.

Malnutrition

Aside from aging, teeth also fall out due to malnutrition. In symbolic language, teeth falling out in dreams can symbolize malnutrition--not just physically, but emotionally, financially, mentally, and/or spiritually. Check to see that your life is fulfilling on all levels and make sure there are no places in your body and/or soul going hungry.

Tooth loss dreams are rarely pleasant as these interpretation reveal. However, bear in mind that dreams are usually indicators of how the psyche feels more so than harbingers of what is to come. By adequately examining one's waking life, emotions, and spiritual state, tooth loss dreams will fade quickly instead of blossoming into waking life nightmares.