Teeth in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin

الأسنان في المنام

In Islam, teeth seen in a dream stand for the dreamer’s family. The Ibn Sirin collection says: “Teeth are the people of a man’s household.” Each tooth matches a relative: the upper teeth are the men, the lower teeth the women. What happens to a tooth, whether illness, falling out or beauty, therefore concerns the relative it represents.

وأما الأسنان فإنهم أهل بيت الرجل فالعليا هم الرجال من أهل البيت والسفلى هم النساءIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “As for the teeth, they are the people of a man’s household. The upper ones are the men of the family, the lower ones are the women.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 148

The collection then sets out the correspondence. The upper canine is the head of the household, the upper right incisor the father, the upper left incisor the paternal uncle. On the lower jaw, the right incisor is the mother and the left the paternal aunt. The upper molars are the grandfathers and the young sons. To read your dream, first ask which tooth was affected.

The meaning according to what you saw

The passage on teeth is in the chapter on the parts of the body. Here are the cases it describes, with one sentence taken from another chapter.

In your dream	Meaning in the collection
A tooth is loose	Illness for the relative that this tooth represents.vol. 1, p. 149
A tooth falls out or is lost	The death of that relative, or an absence from which he does not return. If you find the tooth again after losing it, he comes back.vol. 1, p. 149
Teeth that are decayed or worn away	A trial that strikes the relative linked to that tooth.vol. 1, p. 149
White, long and beautiful teeth	More strength, wealth and standing for the family.vol. 1, p. 149
A new tooth grows beside an incisor	The family grows. If the new tooth harms the old one, this new member will be a shame and a burden.vol. 1, p. 149
You pull out your teeth	You cut the ties of kinship, or you spend your money against your will.vol. 1, p. 149
Your upper teeth fall into your hand	Wealth that comes to you. Into your lap, a son. On the ground, death. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 150
All your teeth fall out and you keep them	A long life, until your teeth fall out, and a large family. If they fall out and vanish from your sight, your relatives die before you.vol. 1, p. 150
Your teeth break	You pay off your debt little by little. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 151
Black, decayed and crooked teeth fall out	You are saved from every hardship.vol. 1, p. 151
One of your teeth hurts	You hear ugly words from the relative that this tooth represents.vol. 1, p. 205
Gold teeth	A good sign for a person of knowledge. For others, illness or a fire.vol. 1, pp. 149-150

Before you interpret your dream

Not every dream carries a meaning. The Prophet ﷺ described three kinds: a good dream, which is glad tidings from Allah; a distressing dream, which comes from Satan; and what a person tells himself during the day (Sahih Muslim, no. 2263). Only the first is read with a collection like Ibn Sirin’s. See the three kinds of dreams, and if your dream frightened you, what to do after a bad dream.

Frequently asked questions

What does it mean when teeth fall out in a dream in Islam?

According to the collection, a tooth that falls out announces the death or the lasting absence of the relative it represents. Where it falls matters: into the hand, wealth; into the lap, a son; on the ground, death. The collection also quotes other opinions: an obstacle to what you want, or a debt paid off (vol. 1, p. 150).

What do broken teeth mean in a dream in Islam?

One opinion reported in the collection says that whoever sees his teeth break pays off his debt little by little (vol. 1, p. 151). The text gives no other meaning for broken teeth.

What does a dream about rotten or black teeth mean in Islam?

Decayed teeth announce a trial for the relative linked to the tooth. However, if black, decayed and crooked teeth fall out, the collection sees the opposite in it: relief from every hardship (vol. 1, pp. 149 and 151).

Is a dream about loose or shaking teeth serious?

The collection only says that a loose tooth points to illness in the relative it represents (vol. 1, p. 149). It does not mention death in this case.

Which tooth represents which family member?

The upper teeth are the men, the lower teeth the women. The upper right incisor is the father, the upper left the paternal uncle. On the lower jaw, the right incisor is the mother, the left the paternal aunt. The upper molars are the grandfathers and the young sons (vol. 1, pp. 148 and 149).

Sources

Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 148 to 152 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
Same collection, chapter 25 (toothache), vol. 1, p. 205.
Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.