# Dreaming about rotten teeth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093 "2010-12-14T06:15:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/21 "2010-12-15T18:12:45Z")
I’m only posting because I find it interesting that I have never had a teeth-falling-out dream, when it’s purportedly common. I do have the naked-at-school or unprepared-for-exam dreams, though. Tonight I’ll probably dream I’m naked and have no teeth. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/23 "2010-12-15T19:45:32Z")
A few years ago, when I was brushing my teeth, one of my molars broke in half and I spit the piece out into the sink. My first thought was “Whoa! Is this a dream?” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/24 "2010-12-16T02:36:44Z")
I have the “can’t find/use a proper toilet dream”, too - I’ve noticed that I get it almost exclusively when I actually DO have to go to the bathroom. I’ve learned that if I have to go even a bit, just get up and go, already, and don’t go back to sleep and have that frustrating dream. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/25 "2010-12-16T04:34:59Z")
I would assume it’s about fear of aging. Dreams about hair loss are also common (for men anyway), and I’d imagine there’s a similar psychological basis. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/26 "2010-12-16T11:37:14Z")
Since no-one else has said it, the possibility that dream interpretation is all hogwash should be considered. We know that some dreams are more common than others. And we know that if you spend a day learning a new skill that requires physical coordination or spatial analysis, you’ll likely have a dream about that activity that evening (though these tend not to be the walking around, experiencing a story type of dream). That’s it. * * * Many years ago when I was less skeptical, I bought a book on dream interpretation. It seemed to be a reprint of a rather old book because some of the “common” dreams included stagecoaches, spinning wheels and the like. Then I found that almost none of my dreams, certainly not the good ones, could be summed up with a single verb / noun anyway, so I couldn’t even test the book. ---
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/27 "2010-12-16T18:31:41Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m only posting because I find it interesting that I have never had a teeth-falling-out dream, when it’s purportedly common. I do have the naked-at-school or unprepared-for-exam dreams, though. > > Tonight I’ll probably dream I’m naked and have no teeth. I’ve never dreamed of my own teeth falling out, either. But I have had one where I was having sex with an attractive partner, but partway through the act she looked up and smiled at me and her teeth start melting and dripping back into her mouth in gooey, waxy chunks. It was pretty creepy. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/28 "2010-12-16T22:29:50Z")
> [@Ruby\_Slippers](#): > > This is close to my own experience. I’ve had dental problems most of my life, with teeth breaking or cracking. So when I had dreams about multiple teeth crumbling in my mouth, I always figured it was just an exaggeration of reality. But now that I’m down to only a few natural teeth, with the rest replaced by dentures, I hardly ever have these dreams. I’ve had basically the same experience. I had a lot of anxiety dreams about my teeth crumbling out of my mouth, and now that I’ve had two pulled, the dreams have basically stopped. Like, the worst thing that could happen has happened, so might as well worry about other things. As for the OP, when this sort of thing shows up in literature (as a dream or not), it’s almost always a sign of impotence (or the loss of the ability to penetrate). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/29 "2010-12-17T00:53:31Z")
I remember having it once. My teeth felt loose, so I spat them into my hand. What came out was a mixture of teeth, nuts, washers, and random bits of metal. I think it was about trying to be more assertive, because that had been on my mind a lot. Also because as I was waking up I heard a voice saying “Ah, that’s how it works. The old ones need to move out so that there’s room for the fangs.” And hearing that, in the dream, was a relaxing thing. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/30 "2010-12-17T03:50:33Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I sometimes have the variant in which my mouth is full of some substance that I try to clear by pulling it out, and I pull and pull and pull but whatever it is is endless. I get this one a lot. I suspect it’s because I have (undiagnosed) sleep apnea. I’ll dream that that gum or candy or whatever it is that I’m trying to get out of my mouth is making it hard to breathe and then I’ll wake up gasping for air. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/31 "2010-12-17T11:32:04Z")
I had this deam for the first time last night, oddly enough. I remember thinking, “Huh, I wonder if this is a dream,” but for some reason I didn’t pinch myself or do any of the things one is supposed to do to check. Most of the dream was wondering how to keep the missing tooth a secret from my parents; it could be that I’m going home this Christmas, and they used to always be on my case about dental hygiene… ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/32 "2010-12-17T12:31:33Z")
I remember the first time I had the teeth falling out dream, it was horrible! Another one I have is that I’ve got a mouth full of chewing gum and I’m trying to pull it out with my hands, but no matter how much I pull out, there’s even more in my mouth. I’m not suffocating, but it feels really horrible. Dreams are weird. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/33 "2010-12-17T12:59:18Z")
I have the ‘teeth falling out dream’ fairly often, maybe a few times a year. I also still get the ‘exam day and I’ve forgotten to go to class all year’ dream, but the one I have the most often is driving. Either I’m driving badly (over-correcting, and the car is fishtailing into things), something is preventing me driving properly (there’s a duvet or something wrapped around my legs and I can’t get the pedals reliably), or I’m driving through a ridiculously precarious situation. The most memorable was the one in which I was reversing a manual transmission sports car down an ice-covered switchback running down the side of a mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/34 "2010-12-17T13:36:39Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Since no-one else has said it, the possibility that dream interpretation is all hogwash should be considered. I thought I diid say that. But yes, as far as I’m concerned the idea that dreams have specific universal interpretations is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/35 "2010-12-17T13:55:03Z")
I’ve never had the rotten teeth dream. I did have the dream that I was eating a giant marshmallow though. The weird thing about that one was, when I woke up my pillow was gone! Am I the only one that has the invasion dreams? It’s usually the zombie apocalypse, alien attack, ghost haunting or robot uprising. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/36 "2010-12-17T17:00:58Z")
Oh I’ve had Nazi invasion dreams since I was 6 years old. I’m not sure why I’m so concerned about the Nazis in particular. Given how many times I saw Red Dawn as a young child, it should have been the Communists, by all rights. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/37 "2010-12-17T18:27:10Z")
Animaniacs: [Potty Emergency](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHje5tza4-8). It is my nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/38 "2010-12-17T19:27:12Z")
For fun, it’s in a recent song by Of Montreal. > [@Of Montreal](#): > > You don’t let me sleep > And when you do it’s just teeth-falling-out nightmares [Famine Affair by Of Montreal](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2dHheEgYDA) > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Am I the only one that has the invasion dreams? It’s usually the zombie apocalypse, alien attack, ghost haunting or robot uprising. I get these too and I love them. They’re so much fun- like an action movie starring me. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/39 "2010-12-18T02:14:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > > [@Mijin](#): > > > > Since no-one else has said it, the possibility that dream interpretation is all hogwash should be considered. > > I thought I diid say that. But yes, as far as I’m concerned the idea that dreams have specific universal interpretations is absurd. Ah, I missed that. Although, I was going slightly further and suggesting that perhaps the whole shebang of mapping dream images to psychological causes might be nonsense; not merely that there isn’t a one-to-one mapping. Other than the observation that a small minority of dreams are unambiguously about things that are concerning us currently, I don’t think there’s a great deal of support for this theory, despite common opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/40 "2010-12-18T06:43:17Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > I get this one a lot. I suspect it’s because I have (undiagnosed) sleep apnea. I’ll dream that that gum or candy or whatever it is that I’m trying to get out of my mouth is making it hard to breathe and then I’ll wake up gasping for air. I get that one occasionally, too, and I think it is a case of not breathing very well in real life, too. It’s really quite unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093/41 "2010-12-18T06:51:22Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I have this one frequently. It’s always the same dimly lit stadium bathroom, but the buildings I’m in often have several of these. Dozens of stalls that have no doors or are too short and only go about mid-chest when standing, or rows of too-close urinals. Co-ed too, although I don’t have any recollection of the sanitary situation. Wow. I though I was the only one to have these dreams. In my case it’s usually that the bathrooms are just too gross to use, but occasionally it happens that I get to the bathrooms and there are no toilets in the stalls. I always have to go potty when I wake up so I figure this is my brain making sure that I don’t piddle in the bed. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dreaming-about-rotten-teeth/564093.md?page=1)