Dreams About Grinding Teeth

16th Oct 2022

Believe it or not, dreams about grinding teeth, teeth falling out, and rotting or crumbling teeth are very common and considered one of the universal dream themes. Teeth dreams may come about due to dental irritation or psychological distress. If you’ve had bad dreams about your teeth, you know that it can be a worrying experience. This guide will help you understand what your teeth dreams might mean and what you could do to feel better.

Mouthguard bruxism Grinding Teeth

What do Dreams About Grinding Teeth Mean?

In some cases, dreams about grinding or losing your teeth could be related to dental irritation. The types of dental irritation that are most commonly associated with these dreams include the following:

Grinding your teeth at night (sleep bruxism): If you have sleep bruxism, you may find that you dream about grinding or losing your teeth. In other cases, sleep bruxism could also be caused by dreams about teeth grinding and tooth loss. If you notice that you’re grinding your teeth at night, you could develop neck and jaw pain. In addition, you may have headaches, muscle tension, and changes to your teeth. You might experience pain in specific teeth, and your teeth may become fractured, chipped, flattened, or loosened. Wearing a mouthguard while sleeping may reduce these symptoms.
Teeth breaking or falling out: When a tooth breaks or falls out, it can be a scary experience. As your mind tries to process what’s happened, you may start having dreams about the event. You could even notice that you dream about other teeth breaking or falling out. This is particularly likely if your initial tooth loss was traumatic.
Growing new teeth or losing baby teeth: As younger children and adolescents lose their baby teeth and grow permanent teeth, they may have dreams about their teeth. These dreams are usually caused by anxiety about the process of growing new teeth. During this time, parents and caregivers can support children by reassuring them that it’s normal to lose baby teeth. It also helps to explain that permanent teeth need time to grow.

Just like other bad dreams, dreams about teeth grinding and tooth loss could be caused by psychological distress. For example, you might be going through a stressful time, and you may be struggling with mental health conditions. Here are some of the conditions and stressful events that may trigger teeth dreams:

Dealing with loss: You may be struggling with the death of a loved one, and you could be coping with a divorce or breakup. You might be dealing with losing your job or facing the loss of your home. Any type of loss could trigger teeth dreams.
Fear of losing control: In this situation, you may find that you’re feeling insecure, and you could notice that it’s hard for you to stop worrying about issues in your life. These fears and worries could influence your dreams.
Significant life changes: These changes could include getting a new job, receiving a promotion, moving to a new city or a new house, getting married, and having kids. Major life changes can impact your subconscious, and you might feel like something could go wrong with your physical and oral health.
Depression: This mental health condition causes you to experience feelings of emptiness, worthlessness, sadness, and restlessness. Your sleep patterns could change, and these alterations could lead to the development of a sleep disorder. You may notice symptoms of insomnia, or you could start sleeping much more than you used to. Depression might cause you to worry about your physical health, and this could result in dreams about bruxism or tooth loss.
Anxiety disorders: While it’s normal to feel anxious from time to time, anxiety disorders cause longer-term anxiety that impacts daily life. If you have an anxiety disorder, you could experience panic attacks that may lead to trembling, hyperventilation, sweating, gastrointestinal symptoms, and sleep disturbances. In cases where anxiety repeatedly wakes you up or reduces the length of time that you sleep, you may be more likely to experience teeth dreams.

Dreams About Grinding Teeth

What to do if You’re Having Dreams About Grinding Teeth

Teeth dreams can disrupt your sleep and affect your mental and physical wellbeing. In fact, studies have shown that dreaming about tooth loss can cause people to experience tooth, gum, and jaw irritation when they wake up. To receive effective treatment, it’s important to address the root cause of these dreams. You may want to see a physician for help with this process. If your dreams have caused changes in your oral health, you should also visit your dentist.

If you and your healthcare team determine that teeth grinding (bruxism) is the root cause of your dreams, getting treatment may stop your teeth dreams. Treatments for bruxism include mouthguards, splints, and dental restoration. Medications may be recommended in some instances.

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If you believe that your teeth dreams are related to life changes, anxiety, or other types of psychological stress, talking with a psychologist or a licensed therapist may help. Depending on your situation, your provider may recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, meditation, or other stress-management techniques. Over time, these strategies could make it easier for you to relax, and your teeth dreams may subside.

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As part of your treatment, your healthcare professional might recommend that you wear a mouthguard while you sleep. You may want to consider purchasing your mouthguard from Pro Teeth Guard. We sell comfortable, custom-fit mouthguards at affordable prices, and we make our products in a professional dental lab. All purchases are covered by our 110% money-back guarantee.

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