Lost in Seattle

I rarely remember my dreams, and when I do they’re usually banal. Amy loves to bring up the time I dreamt about eating a very tasty sandwich. It was memorably delicious. And I ate it. That was it.

My only recurring dream, an example of which I experienced last night, involves my having a loose front tooth. In the dream, I am quite worried about both the cause — why is this happening? — and the effect — I will look disfigured; it will cost a lot of money to fix. People advise me to leave it alone, but I can’t stop wiggling it. I don’t recall, however, that it has ever fallen out.

It turns out that the loose-tooth dream topic isn’t entirely uncommon. I usually don’t put too much truck in dream interpretation since I don’t subscribe to the notion of archetypes or the subconscious. Searching for the “meaning” of this kind of dream has further cemented my belief that a dream analysis is either (a) a bunch of hooey, or (b) so unique to an individual that it cannot be abstracted to a general theory (likely both). As in astrology and biblical “scholarship,” dream analysis leaves the practitioner a comfortable margin of error, as can be seen by these highly divergent interpretations of the “loose tooth dream”:

Language of the Mind: Teeth are the first instruments of the digestive system. In a dream, teeth symbolize a means of assimilating knowledge. Losing teeth is a common symbol in a dream indicating a change in the way the dreamer assimilates what is learned. Thoughts to Consider: Am I assimilating the knowledge available to me? Some people collect information without ever applying it to themselves or their lives. This is wasted energy. “Chew” on new ideas, assimilating their meaning and import to your Self and your life.

Source: Dreamschool

I don’t quite get the connection between the digestive system and assimilating knowledge. This interpretation seems to be built on the phrase “to chew on it.” Well, a ham actor also “chews the scenery,” and a dimwitted person is said to be “chewing his/her cud.” I don’t think the digestion/knowledge connection can be made without further evidence. Here, it is just offered up a fact. Bah!

[Responding to a loose tooth dream submitted by a reader] Is Sandra’s dream related to changes in her life - and accordingly to “losing” parts of herself? Is she dealing with issues now that involve cleansing or letting go of things that no longer are useful to her? Conversely, is she being forced to let go of parts of her life that really are useful to her, but over which she has no control? Is the dream a metaphor for an increasing sense of powerlessness? Does it suggest a loss of beauty or physical attractiveness? Should Sandra simply visit a dentist?

Source: Ask the Dream Doctor

I think it’s interesting that when the Dream Doctor is presented with letters that offer some simple possible explanations for the dreams (e.g. bad memories of dental work), he/she seizes on those; but when a letter (Sandra’s) leaves the explanations open-ended, Dream Doctor goes crazy with speculation. “The last dream leaves more room for symbolic interpretation,” he writes. Well, yes, only because the letter-writer failed to offer any context so you now have to make shit up. Honestly!

Dreams that your teeth are falling out are the most common dreams we here at Dream Moods receive…. One theory is that dreams about your teeth reflect your anxiety about your appearance and how others perceive you…. Another rationalization for these falling teeth dream may be rooted in your fear of being embarrassed or making a fool of yourself in some specific situation…. A scriptural interpretation for bad or falling teeth indicate that you are putting your faith, trust, and beliefs in what man thinks rather than in the word of God…. In the Greek culture, when you dream about loose, rotten, or missing teeth, it indicates that a family member or close friend is very sick or even near death…. According to the Chinese, there is a saying that your teeth will fall out if your are telling lies…. It has also been said that if you dream of your teeth falling out, then it symbolizes money.

Source: Dream Moods

Yadda, yadda, yadda. What the hell does this dream not symbolize? Oh, anything to do with actual teeth. Of course; that’d be too easy.

Personally, I have no idea what the loose tooth dream means to me. I don’t deny that it might mean something, especially since it recurs. I do feel anxiety in the dream. I can’t stop fiddling with the loose tooth (which is causing the anxiety) yet I am careful to not just rip it out. Maybe something is bugging me but I’m afraid to confront it. I don’t know.

But I do know I’m not relying on dream “experts” to tell me what it means.