I nearly dropped my forceps watching the movie Leave the World Behind. This American apocalyptic thriller depicts a 16-year-old boy struck down by a mysterious illness. It’s triggered by an invisible force (bookies’ odds-on favourite being high-strength microwaves), leaving the unfortunate lad feverous, vomiting blood, and dealing with all his teeth spontaneously falling out. Even for my seasoned stomach, this was chair-squirming viewing.
This film will undoubtedly, undesirably feed the imaginations of the all-too-numerous ‘teeth dreamers’ amongst us. Apparently 39% of us have had at least one dream involving our teeth falling out or crumbling apart and 8% of us are regularly waking up in a cold sweat and rushing to check that the teeth are still where they are supposed to be.
Freud linked teeth dreams with castration, impotence and a sense of helplessness so having these dreams signified sexual anxiety in both men and women
Many hypotheses have been suggested for these unnerving teeth dreams. Some take it as a metaphor for life’s hurdles, for example, the loss of the teeth being reflective of someone feeling like they have lost control of certain aspects of their life or a fear of letting something go. They could reflect guilt, some type of concern, loss of job, break up of a relationship, or as part of grief.
One small study asked participants to fill out personality questionnaires and found that teeth dreamers were more anxious and depressed, had lower ego strength, were less satisfied with their lives, and were more likely to have feelings of helplessness than the control subjects.
Freud’s take on teeth dreams was, as expected, connected with sexual repression. In his book A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis, he linked teeth dreams with castration, impotence and a sense of helplessness so having these dreams signified sexual anxiety in both men and women.
As well as the symbolic viewpoints on the dream analysis, research shows that there is often an underlying physical cause as well. There is a large group of people who have some form of irritation in their mouth who also experience teeth dreams. These irritations could be sharp edges, sensitive teeth, multiple missing or worn teeth, facial muscle tension, or an ill-fitting bite.
It’s thought that nighttime grinding and snoring bringing about a reduced oxygenation of the body while sleeping may add to the dental exfoliation reveries. For any concerned teeth dreamers, you may want to ask your dentist to check for any underlying conditions and how to rectify them.
