Dental Dreaming

Since beginning dental school, I've had several dreams that involve my teeth. Several times I've dreamed that my teeth were cracking and falling apart. In talking with my classmates I've learned that I'm not the only one who has had this dream.

Last night was perhaps my most bizarre dental dream yet. I was looking in the mirror and examining my teeth, each one of which happened to be about the size of golf ball! This was actually completely normal for some reason. What wasn't normal was the awful condition of my pearly whites. I was so embarrassed because I clearly had several cavities. These were no ordinary cavities, mind you. I was able to fit the tip of my pinkie finger inside some of them. Also, the holes weren't all gunky and soft like decayed tooth structure normally appears. On the contrary, my cavities were well defined, giving my teeth a sort of swiss-cheese appearance. I remember two things really concerning me:

1. I knew it would take a very large amount of composite filling material to fix my smile- at least 20 cartridges per tooth. I was worried about the amount of polymerization shrinkage and the associated post-op sensitivity and risk for fracture. (That's right, I'm even a nerd in my own dreams).

2. I was worried about what would happen a few months from now when I show up as the new dentist in town with holes all through my teeth. Way to make a good first impression, Doctor.

Needless to say, I was relieved when I woke up to find I had my normal-sized healthy teeth back. I'd like to hear if any of the Dental Ninja readers have ever had a bizarre tooth-related dream. If so, please leave a comment.