I'd love some insight into this dream -- A co-worker (a young woman, much younger than I... I am male and actually her boss) told me about a dream she had involving me. One of her teeth fell out, and I was the dentist she came to for help. I kept trying to reinsert the tooth -- becoming increasingly forceful in my efforts, "hammering" and "pounding" to get it back in. And then, suddenly, I succeeded, the tooth was restored, healthy, back in place, and all was well. She also mentioned that her mother was there, watching, thru all of this.

(some additional info I thought of that may be useful -- this young woman did share with me that her father died when she was much younger)

Any thoughts, insights, etc??????

It's hard to say since it isn't your dream.

What is her relationship with you like? Are you very friendly? Do you talk about personal stuff often, do you do stuff together outside of work, or is it mostly a boss/employee relationship?

If she mostly sees you as her boss, then in the dream you might represent "authority", rather than yourself as an individual.

more about that dream

No contact outside of work, no personal/social stuff....
We are pretty friendly in the work context -- joking around, etc... In fact, after telling me about the dream, she's made a running joke of calling me "the dentist."
When she first started, she did do a little bit of personal sharing about herself and her life, in the course of getting to know each other....

Thanks for your reply,

Rooster

A little more info...

I talked a bit with the young woman who had the dream.....
She has had recurring dreams (which she found distressing) about her teeth falling out.

In this dream, she said she was very surprised that I was the person fixing her tooth, but felt very comfortable with that being so.... She says that she was very, very skeptical that it would work (that I would be able to reinsert the tooth and get it to stay in), and again, very surprised when it did succeed....

She noted that her Mother was holding her hand throughout the entire process.

She said that her predominant emotional reaction to the dream was surprise..... but that she did not find it distressing or uncomfortable in any way....

Then unless the fact that she reports to you influenced what she said, I'd say you emerge as the Good Guy: strong, competent, determined; a source of help with ongoing problems.

Now she needs to work on what losing teeth symbolizes. In my case, it symbolized that I was losing teeth, so I can't help much other than to say there are worse things than dentures.