Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars

The metaphysical meanings of molar and premolar teeth are different for every individual. However, there are some common themes and widely accepted frameworks for interpretation.

Molars and premolars are your most powerful teeth, the grinders and chewers.

Energetically, these big back teeth help you to process the challenges in your life. 

Meridian meaning of molars

The meridian system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treats molars and premolars differently from the rest of your teeth. The meridians for each pair vary according to whether they are in the upper or lower jaw and the right or left side. 

Upper molars and lower pre molars are on the Stomach and Spleen meridians on the left side or Pancreas on the right side. These meridians are associated with emotions including anxiety, self-punishment, hate and  low self worth.

Lower molars and upper premolars are on the Lung (associated with grief and sadness) and Large Intestine meridians (associated with feeling compulsive, trapped, controlling or overcritical).

Psychosocial meanings of molars and premolars

 Dr Michele Caffin’s psychosocial framework relates each type of tooth to a particular aspect of your life. You can explore each of these interpretations in more detail by cross-referencing with the meanings of right and left, upper and lower quadrants of the mouth explained here.

 The first premolars (teeth numbers 5, 12, 21, 28) relate to your ego, your identity and your desires.

 It’s common practice for orthodontists to extract the first premolars of young teenagers with crowded teeth. But metaphysically, missing these teeth can weaken your sense of self and may result in submitting to authority figures even if you don’t want to. 

 The second premolars (4,13,20,29)  relate to your creativity, hobbies and children. 

 These teeth can start to experience problems when the responsibilities of adult life, particularly parenting start to crowd out your own interest. 

The first molars (3,14,19,30)  relate to status and expression.

 These teeth can be affected by how you speak up for yourself at work or at home.

The second molars (2,15,18,31) relate to relationships and daily life.

 There is a close relationship between these back molars and wisdom teeth (which I’ll focus on in the next video and blog in this series). 

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But these two frameworks (TCM and psychosocial) are just starting points for understanding and healing your teeth and gums, they are not sufficient by themselves. You need to be a detective, investigating the unique personal influences on your own teeth and gum symptoms.

Making sense of symptoms

Chronic oral health symptoms can be the embodiment of an emotional or psychosocial pattern. It’s common to be able to trace your adult teeth and gums problems back to patterns that emerged in childhood or adolescence as a survival strategy.

You may have spend years consciously try to change the emotional pattern with therapy, trauma healing or emotional expression, yet the physical pattern can persist in your mouth.  

Angry Abscesses

Abscesses and infections in your mouth may indicate a pattern of suppressed frustration or anger.

The abscess may flare up if you are triggered into anger in your current circumstances, or it can be a long low simmer from earlier in your life.

Look at the particular teeth adjacent to the infection to help you make sense of it.

For example, on your left side molars or premolars an abscess may be in response to a toxic intimate relationship or unhealthy family dynamic.

Infected molars or premolars on your right side are more likely to be assocated with work related frustration or injustice in the public sphere.

Gum insecurity

Gum problems around molars and premolars may indicate a lack of stability or security in relation to the particular issues governing those teeth. 

Gum issues adjacent to premolar #5 could relate to insecure employment, unemployment or underemployment.

Gum issues around molar #19 may relate to insecurity in a romantic relationship,  such as feeling jealous or betrayed.

Misaligned  molars

When your upper and lower molars aren’t vertically aligned enough to chew properly,  it may represent a resistance or block to deeply engaging with life challenges, either in the past or as an ongoing pattern. 

For example, if your lower jaw skews to your right indicate that you have avoided emotions, or not been processing issues, around family and intimate relationships.

Or if your lower jaw is skewing left perhaps you have avoided career or economic responsibilities or had difficulty with pursuing your professional or academic ambitions. 

What’s next?

Please don’t take these suggestions about how to interpret your molar and premolar issues too literally.

They should be considered as prompts for self examination, and not acted on as a reliable diagnosis for yourself and especially not for anyone else.

Explore your own unique personal symptoms by journalling, in safe, therapeutic conversations with a counsellor or coach (like me!) or read my book, The Secret Lives of Teeth: Understanding emotional influences on oral health.

This blog is part of a series which explores ways to work with the metaphysical meanings of specific teeth such as wisdoms, canines and incisors and how to interpret different kinds of symptoms in your teeth or adjacent gums.

To help speed up the process you can watch my free Listen to your Teeth masterclass where I take you through a guided meditation for listening to your teeth. 

Metaphysical Healing for Teeth and Gums

Metaphysical healing teeth and gums can help boost the effectiveness and sustainability of dental procedures as well as natural approaches to oral such as health herbs or diet, anatomical adjustments to your breath or jaw muscles, optimising your oral hygiene rituals… or a necessary dental procedure. 

In this video I lay out some guidelines for applying spiritual healing concepts to teeth and gums. There are strengths and limitations of using existing frameworks of metaphysical meanings to symptoms, which I explain in relation to the four quadrants of your mouth: the upper and lower jaws and the right and left sides. Finally I’ll provide some practical examples of how to work with metaphysical meanings to help with healing your own symptoms.

This video series is all about the metaphysical or non-physical, influences on your oral health, but its important to remember to provide physical support for your teeth.  If you have intense or constant pain, or other serious symptoms please visit a dental professional.

Interpreting the quadrants of your mouth

Metaphysically and dentally, you can divide your mouth horizontally into upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible); and vertically into right and left sides. 

Upper Jaw

Your upper jaw is about dreams and intentions, it represents what you want and wish for, the upper jaw is where you set goals and visualise the future. Having symptoms concentrated in your upper jaw can indicate a problem with knowing or accepting your dreams or desires.

Lower Jaw

Your lower jaw is about action, speaking your truth, and qualities of  courage, authenticity, decisiveness. Symptoms in your lower jaw can suggest you have held back from speaking out or taking action. 

TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint)

Your TMJ joint, the hinge between upper and lower jaw, represents the connection between your desires and your actions. It can embody your fears, your impulsiveness or your hesitation. Symptoms such as TMJ disorder, a clicking jaw or teeth grinding can indicate resentment or anger.

In many healing traditions the Right side of the body is associated with  masculine energies or your relationship with your father while the Left side is associated with feminine energies or your relationship with your mother.

However, I find it’s not usually helpful to take such a gender-essentialist interpretation of these associations with the sides of your mouth. 

Instead, the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang can be more meaningful.

Right side of your mouth

The energy of the right side of your mouth may tend to be more yang: active, outward, professional, career, logical thinking. 

Left side of your mouth

The energy of the left side of your mouth may tend to be more yin:  inner world, intuitive, family, children, hobbies, creativity.

But knowing the traditional associations with different parts of your mouth is just a starting point for spiritual healing, not a solution or cure in itself . 

Guidelines for spiritual healing

As a holistic oral health coach, I may refer to existing metaphysical frameworks such as Traditional Chinese Medicine’s meridian system, Dr Michele Caffin’s psychosocial system and correlations identified by Louise Hay, Evette Rose and others as starting points for understanding the metaphysical influences on your oral health. These frameworks are most helpful when inspiring what questions to explore, rather being relied on for answers. 

Think of these existing associations as story prompts that can help you explore your own childhood and adult experiences, your family patterns  and ancestral lineage. 

Parts of your unique story might come to you in a dream, or as a memory from a past life. 

Your story can emerge from your visioning, or be picked up from the wider culture. 

Finding your healing story this way can give you a delicate, imaginative tool for healing. 

For the purposes of healing, it doesn’t necessarily matter whether your healing story is true or accurate in order to transform your relationship with your oral health.

However, it can feel intoxicating to finally make sense of your symptoms with a compelling metaphysical interpretation.

That intoxication can lead you to give your healing story more weight than it can hold. 

It may not be wise to use your healing story to determine your identity, and you should certainly be very careful before going public with blame or claims. 

Before you take your healing story out of the safe space of your healing work, (ie before you share it anywhere beyond your journal or a confidential therapeutic conversation) ensure you have receipts.

Without corroboration, or evidence, going public with your healing story could potentially cause further harm, if not to you, then to others. 

Your unique metaphysical meanings

Journalling can be one way to help you develop traditional associations into a healing story that can help you to relieve your symptoms and transform your oral health. 

Think of your symptoms as metaphors you can apply to the associations.  Make a list of words that describe your symptoms:

eg blocking or eroding or aggravating, deep or shallow, nagging, intermittent, subtle, overwhelming, irritating, invasive, unbalanced, stuck etc…

Once you’ve written down the words that describe your symptoms, reread each word and think about the non-symptom experiences in your life that those words could also be metaphors for.  A thesaurus or synonym search might be helpful.

Understanding the metaphysical meaning of your teeth issues can be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with a picture that is mostly blue sky.  You have to test many possibilities to find the right fit.

With relaxed curiosity and a playful spirit you can test your symptom’s metaphors against the associations of their placement in your mouth.

A throbbing toothache in your upper left jaw

For example: if you have a throbbing toothache in your left upper jaw… think about anything in your personal life that feels overwhelming, or a nagging desire that remains unfulfilled.  Have you had any relationships that feel like this, or felt like this in the past, especially within your family or intimate circle? 

A throbbing toothache in your lower right jaw

If the throbbing toothache is taking over your lower right side consider whether your work life is demanding or whether you’ve made a career move you regret. Are you uncomfortable now or in the past with anyone in a position of authority, or anyone in a fatherly role  or acting in domineering way?

Keep brainstorming metaphors and experimenting with associations. Don’t be afraid to extend your pool of possible healing stories by drawing on memories, dreams, insights from other people, even song lyrics that catch your ear!

Recognising your own healing story

You won’t always recognise your story right away.

Sometimes you will think: not this old trauma, surely my 20 years of therapy and healing resolved this by now.

Sometimes you will think: that’s too trivial, I don’t have enough emotional attachment for this to explain my symptoms.

Sometimes it can take weeks of chewing on these ideas before you get clarity.

To help speed up the process you can watch my free Listen to your Teeth masterclass where I take you through a guided meditation for listening to your teeth.