Dreams of losing teeth are among the most common motifs, along with flying, large waves, houses, hotels, trains, planes, cars, and threatening animals such as snakes. I would add peeing! Also lacking either upper or lower apparel. There’s also the inability to speak and be heard, or to run. I had those more as a child. Spiders are common, as are being lost or losing things. When we’re in school, not showing up for a test is common, or getting there not having studied. If a teacher, you’ll likely have dreams of getting to class and not having planned, or you’re new and can’t find the room.
Among teeth dreams, there are loosening teeth, broken teeth, teeth suddenly falling out or feeling like they will, or crumbling teeth. There are various ideas about what they might represent. One idea is that teeth in a dream are the dreamer’s sense of confidence or competence in the waking world. That’s similar to how I see shoe dreams. I’ve had a LOT of shoe dreams—e.g. arriving in flimsy sandals to an event that calls for something sturdier. In many dreams, I can’t find my shoes, or I only find tiny children’s shoes. I think it’s about not having our feet firmly under us, or not feeling adequately shod for where we need to stand. So teeth representing confidence makes sense; the way we smile or speak presents our front, our bravado, our stance. If we think about animals, some show teeth as menace while others show obeisance.
In this light, I’m going to share a dream I had that’s an unusual example of this theme:
Feb. 2, 2009: I step out from a modernistic marblish building through a bead curtain —very, very tall, stories high—onto a vast, grassy area near the sea, saying, “well, at least we know we look toward Hawaii.” The men and women I’m with laugh, somehow related to the fact that we just found out we can’t go to China. Later I’m looking closely at my teeth, getting really scared because some of them are transparent. The more I look, the more transparent they get. Someone says how lucky I am to be so rich, as if clear teeth indicate wealth.
What are these transparent teeth indicative of? True speaking? Clarity of speech? Or being revealed in a way I don’t want? What makes them scary? As with most dreams with any distress factor, change or transition is probably involved.
I love getting a peek into your dream world. The shoe dreams particularly intrigue me. I rarely remember my dreams. This goes back to my childhood after my father died. I would dream night after night that I’d be at some kind of gathering, usually an extended sort of family thing, and then someone would call to me, saying, “Laura, your father’s here.” I would turn around and see him across the room and be elated. I’d run toward him, but then I’d wake up to the reality of his death. I finally just said to myself, “I’m not going to dream anymore.” And since then I rarely wake up with a dream on my mind. I do catch glimpses of dreams now and then, but they’re illusive. Sometimes it’s hard to undo decisions that no longer serve you.
Laura, it’s so true, and a tribute to our psyche’s resilience, protecting us when we need it. I can certainly see why you told it you didn’t want to remember that dream.
You can coax remembering, though. I feel like my dream maker responds to attention: dream collaging, my dream groups. It says, “Well, hey, if you’re listening, I’ll work harder at getting your attention.” Or the mind says, “That was rewarding. I think I’ll try to remember more!” Sometimes I think I’ve retained only a wisp of a dream but if I write just that much down more comes, like when you pull a thread and more unravels.
Covid’s been a barren time for remembering dreams for a lot of people, interestingly.
Thanks so much for your response and sharing.