I have been reading about dreams that involve teeth falling out but the common explanation doesn’t seem to apply to me completely. About two weeks ago I had a very short and realistic dream in which I pulled out some of my teeth. I was standing and in front of me was a reflection of my self close up, like a mirror but I couldn’t actually see anything but the reflection. My top row of teeth hurt and so I reached up and pulled out the first two molars on both sides. As I was doing it I was terrified because it hurt and I didn’t (of course) want to lose my teeth. All those years of braces!! Then again I reached up and pulled out the two front, top, pointy teeth. I remember being very frightened. Then the dream ended.

Last night I had a dream which began exactly the same way, except in the reflection I was missing the teeth I had already pulled in the last dream. In the back top row I had a tooth which hurt (I couldn’t see which one) and so I was about to pull it but it fell out itself. When I inspected the tooth in amazement I noticed that it was rotten from the inside out. In the last dream the teeth I had pulled were perfectly normal... Then suddenly I was standing in front of the phone and calendar in the kitchen. I remember the calendar specifically because I was staring at it. I showed my mouth and the tooth to my father and I remember that I was very upset and crying. My father told me not to worry because I could always get dentures! I said that I didn’t want dentures! Then he proceded to tell me that I would probably be better off with dentures anyway!

I don’t have a bad relationship with my father or anything like that. My life has been confusing as of late, so here are some things that might be important: My mother is in the hospital having a treatment for cancer. I am in love with one of my best guy friends and I just can’t tell him, and it is this whole mess... sometimes I think he likes me and sometimes not... etc. I have always been (strangely) worried about my teeth (braces and all) so I just figured after the first dream that it was just me worrying about nothing. I have a lot of school work and projects assigned as of late. If there are any other questions just e-mail me!

- Adele, Age 16, Dunnellon, FL, USA

Hi Adelle -

I’m sorry to learn about your mother’s illness. I hope she makes a quick and healthy recovery! :-)

I think your dream most likely reflects concerns about your mother being in the hospital. In addition to worries about our appearance, “teeth falling out dreams” often reflect concerns over advancing age - and decline of the physical body.

I think it is significant that in both dreams you are looking in a mirror - at your reflection. When we look in a mirror we see ourselves - and we also, in a metaphoric sense, see a reflection of our parents.

I’m not sure the type or severity of your mother’s cancer, but we all know that during treatment people can lose their hair, lose a breast, or have an infected part of their body removed. In this context, your father’s remark that you’ll be “better off” without the infected tooth seems significant. Your shock that the tooth was rotten “from the inside out” may also reflect your surprise when you learned that your mother has cancer. In its early stages, cancer is a disease that is visible only on the inside. You also stare at the calendar and phone in your second dream, which suggests concern about time, and communication. Your mother is currently in the hospital for a period of time - receiving treatment - and I’m sure you speak to her frequently on the phone. I suspect that the calendar also symbolizes time in relation to aging. Your mother’s illness most likely has caused you to worry about the perils of aging in general.

It is true that some of the other events occurring in your life are often linked to “teeth falling out” dreams. Your uncertainty about whether or not your crush likes you, in particular, can make you unsure of your own appearance and attractiveness. You also write that as a result of having braces you have developed a long-standing concern with your teeth.

Thanks very much for sharing your dream. We wish your mother a full and speedy recovery.