(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

Teeth: More Than Body Parts That Chew

The way characters display or hide teeth reveals clues about their lifestyle and history.

A well-dressed CEO whose infrequent smile exposes poorly maintained teeth might be on the verge of bankruptcy. A gorgeous cougar with expensive veneers (who tells her young admirer she’s impoverished) could spook her prey. Someone trying to hide a cigarette habit from a spouse might be foiled by nicotine stains.

James Joyce understood the value of a dental analogy when he said, “My mouth is full of decayed teeth and my soul of decayed ambitions.”

Although the average writer describes teeth to boost physical imagery, the extraordinary writer describes them to develop character and plot.

The suggestions in this post assist with both approaches.

Warning: Occasional inclusion of teeth augments writing. Don’t overdo.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Teeth can help express emotion.

Which of the following sentences do you prefer?

Alana was very angry.

Alana bared her teeth.

The first sentence, pure tell, provides no mental image for readers. The second shows us Alana’s anger. Both sentences contain the same number of words.

Incorporate some of the following to show your characters’ emotions.

baring the teeth: aggression, anger, envy, rage, resentment

biting or chewing on one’s lip: desperation, frustration, oppression, overwork

chattering teeth: dread (or a reaction to cold)

clenched teeth: animosity, anticipation of pain or other unpleasant sensation, defensiveness, envy, hatred, hidden grief, hostility, irritation, jealousy, physical strain

tapping one’s teeth with a finger or a personal object like a pen: boredom, deliberation, distraction, mild frustration

grinding one’s teeth: anger, annoyance, anxiety, disappointment, disapproval, discouragement, dread, frustration, hatred, negativity, suspicion

gritting one’s teeth: anguish, distress, embarrassment, frustration, impatience, wariness

licking or running tongue over one’s teeth: stress

smiling with one’s teeth showing: friendliness, openness, willingness

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Quick Yet Effective: Try Toothy as an Adjective

Happy characters can flash toothy grins or smiles.

You could refer to a glutton as having a toothy snout or maw.

A miser might be worthy of a toothy beak or sneer.

A talkative neighbor could be called a toothy gossip or blabbermouth.

Adjectives to Describe Teeth

Some of these words would be more appropriate as modifiers for gums or as general descriptors of a character.

A and B
abscessed, adult, anterior, artificial, atavistic, baby, back, bad, beautiful, bicuspid, bicuspidate, big, bright, brittle, broken, buck

C
canine, carious, carnassial, carnivorous, ceramic, cheap (as in false teeth), compact, cracked, craggy, crooked

D to F
dazzling, decayed, defective, diseased, disgusting, double, dull, eroded, even, extracted, false, faultless, fearsome, feline, feral, fine, flashing, flawless, formidable, fractured

G to I
gap-toothed, gnarled, healthy, hollow, immense, imperfect, inconspicuous, infected, inflamed, insubstantial, irregular

J to M
jagged, keen, lead, long, loose, lower, mail-order, maloccluded, malposed, mammoth, massive, misaligned, misshapen, missing, monstrous

N to P
nasty, needle-sharp, neglected, overcrowded, perfect, permanent, photogenic, powerful, predatory, primary, pristine, prominent, protruding

R and S
razor-sharp, retractable, ridged, rotten, serrated, sharp, slick, slimy, snaggletoothed, snowy, sound, spaced, sparkling, splintered, stained, straight, strong, stubby, stumpy

T to W
temporary, tiny, toothless, translucent, ulcerated, underdeveloped, uneven, upper, useless, vampirish, veneered, venomous, vestigial, warlike, well-kept, wide, wooden

Similes and Metaphors Increase the Creative Possibilities

Animals are often exploited for similes because they elicit instant visuals. A paleontologist might compare a person’s teeth to those of a monolophosaurus, whereas a knight might envision dragon’s teeth. Someone who has arachnophobia might compare a stalker’s teeth to the fangs of a spider.

However, rather than say a man has teeth like a crocodile, a writer could describe him as crocodile-toothed. Here are a few animal-based descriptors to spark your imagination.

B to W
beaver-toothed, crocodile-toothed, dragon-toothed, horselike, piranha-like, reptilian, saber-toothed, shark-toothed, spider-fanged, vulpine, wolfish

Other words that can be exploited for comparisons include:

A to Z
antlers, axes, bad jokes, baseball bats, broken pencils, daggers, dull witticisms, fence posts, fire hydrants, fishhooks, fork tines, glass, grilles, grindstones, gun barrels, icicles, machetes, pegs, pickets, porcelain, porcupine quills, prongs, pushpins, ragged rails, rakes, razor blades, scimitars, scissors, shingles, shovels, spikes, stalactites, stalagmites, swords, thorns, tombstones, zippers

See also 500+ Words to Describe Faces.

Teeth Are Not Always White

Depending on environment, health, and age, teeth might be various colors:

B to Y
black, bleached, bloody, brown, chalky, dark, flinty, gilded, gold, golden, gray/grey, grayed/greyed graying/greying, ivory, milky, mottled, pearly, silver, white, yellow

See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors.

Shapes Further Define Teeth

A serial killer might have hooked or twisted teeth. A runway model’s could be described as oval. A hospital lab technician’s: needlelike.

The following shapes can provide the kernels for more involved descriptions.

B to W
blocky, blunt, bowed, conical, cylindrical, hooked, needlelike, oval, pointed, rectangular, spiked, square, subcylindrical, trapezoidal, triangular, twisted, twisty, wedge-shaped

Looking for more shape adjectives? Search Google Images for teeth shapes. You’ll see multiple categories, each displaying several pages of graphics.

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Teeth do more than sit motionless in gums.

Many of the following verbs would be more suitable for character actions than for those of teeth. However, readers will envision the way the teeth move or feel when they encounter these words.

A to L
ache, bare, bite, bore, champ, chatter, chew, chomp, chop, clack, clamp, clatter, clench, click, clunk, compress, crumble, crunch, crush, destroy, dig into, flash, flatten, gleam, glide, glimmer, glint, glisten, glow, gnash, gnaw, grab, grate, grind, grit, hammer, jut (out), lock (onto)

M to V
mash, masticate, maul, mesh, mince, munch, nibble (on), nip, pinch, pound (on), press, project, protrude, pulverize, rattle, reflect, rend, rip, rub, scrape, scrunch, shimmer, shine, shred, sink into, slash, smash, snap, sparkle, squash, squeeze, tear, throb, vibrate

Need Nouns to Replace Teeth?

Check these. Several are colloquial or slang, but they would suit dialogue and some narrators:

B to F
bicuspids, biters, bottle openers, bridgework, canines, chewers, chiclets, chompers, choppers, cisors, clackers, clampers, clappers, clippers, crumb-crushers, crunchers, crushers, cutters, dentures, eyeteeth, fangs, food choppers, food grinders

G to W
gnashers, gummers, incisors, ivories, masticators, meat chisels, meat grinders, milk teeth, molars, mowers, nippers, pearlies, pearly whites, premolars, prongs, snagglers, snags, stomach teeth, toofers, toofies, tusks, vampfangs, weapons of mass destruction, wisdom teeth

Props Add More Options

Looking for a story twist? Write the following nouns on slips of paper and draw one at random. Then work it into your plot.

B to X
beverages, braces, bridges, caps, cavities, clickers, crowns, dental floss, dentin, dentures, drill, dry socket, enamel, fillings, fluoride, food, gingivitis, implants, lipstick, mouthwash, overbite, plaque, pyorrhea, retainers, root canals, roots, rubber bands, soother, stubs, teething ring, Tooth Fairy, toothbrush, toothpaste, toothpick, underbite, x-ray

Many Clichés and Idioms Contain Teeth or Tooth

In your enthusiasm to include teeth, you might resort to phrases like the following. Try substituting more concise words.

a tooth for a tooth: justice, recompense, revenge, vengeance

armed to the teeth: fully armed, well-armed, well-equipped

by the skin of one’s teeth: barely, narrowly

dressed to the teeth: elegant, fashionable, well-dressed

fed up to the back teeth: annoyed, exasperated, irritated

like pulling teeth: arduous, difficult, tedious, thorny, unpleasant

long in the tooth: aging, elderly, old, outdated

no skin off one’s teeth: inconsequential, trivial, unimportant

rare/scarce as hens’ teeth: atypical, rare, scarce, unique

to cast in one’s teeth: chastise, lecture, reproach

to cut one’s teeth: apprentice, learn, practice, study

to fight tooth and nail: battle, brawl; toil, slave, sweat

to fly in the teeth of: contest, dissent, oppose

to give one’s eye teeth: covet, crave, yearn

to give teeth (to something): condone, legitimize, support

to have a sweet tooth: crave sugar or sweets

to have teeth:  function, succeed, triumph, work

to kick someone in the teeth: disappoint, disillusion, humiliate

to lie through one’s teeth: fabricate, falsify, lie, perjure oneself

to make someone’s teeth itch: aggravate, annoy, exasperate, irritate

to set one’s teeth on edge: annoy, exasperate, irritate, peeve, vex

to show one’s teeth: browbeat, bully, intimidate, threaten, torment

to sow dragon’s teeth: incite, inflame, instigate, provoke, spur

to take the teeth out of:  alleviate, assuage, ease, mitigate, relieve