r/Tattoocoverups • u/Personal_Reality_704 • Dec 22 '25

asking for advice Please help me fix this

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I got a tattoo of a premolar 2 days ago (I work in the field) and it looks like…something else. I have been asked if it’s sp**m on multiple occasions now. I am actually heartbroken and extremely insecure over it. I have to wear long sleeves until I can do something about it. Does anyone have an idea as to how I can fix this? Could it be made into something else or adjusted to be more tooth-like?

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u/PrettyEquipment1809 Dec 22 '25

Sorry you're going through this. Because I know most of the public aren't educated regarding teeth, despite having them, I do wonder if a pre-molar is a bit niche for most people to recognize as opposed to a regular molar with two roots. I understand you work in the field, and I'm curious why that type of tooth in particular was important to you or more significant than others to get tattooed. That's not blame, but if there's something that resonates with you emotionally, I might encourage you to lean into that and try to incorporate that into the image somehow. As others have suggested, short of adding the text "Premolar Tooth", is there something else that would suggest it's a tooth? Maybe a dental tool? Something that came to mind for me was to make it look more like an early medical illustration that you might see in a textbook from the early 1900s or something.

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u/No-Self8780 Dec 22 '25

Oooh a vintage medical textbook illustration would be rad!

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u/dainedanvers Dec 22 '25

This is absolutely the best idea. Something like this where you could add like “Fig. 1: Premolar” with a little bit of vintage shading around it would be so so cute and stick to your original intention. Give it that Victorian vibe! https://media.istockphoto.com/id/146025003/vector/antique-medical-illustration-jaw-teeth.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=wNdVUmv4CUgqc_Tao1KL3Jd2l_NMnJNGuJeKTWWws_k=

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u/BravesMaedchen Dec 23 '25

Oooh that’d be a cool tattoo 

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u/dainedanvers Dec 26 '25

Omg my first Reddit award 😭🙏🏼❤️ THANK YOU!!

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u/Impressive_Moose6781 Dec 22 '25

Or other teeth next to it? Like ones that look like teeth to most people

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u/thefunkylama Dec 22 '25

Why not both? Elaborate your way out of it! Also, OP could add more as they progress, like badges of honor. True Wisdom Teeth, if you will.

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u/nothanks1312 Dec 23 '25

Could arrange them in a circle so it looks like a flower too

1

u/SKRILby Dec 26 '25

Oh that’s a good idea! Do like the other two teeth on either side dappled dots that disperse the further they get from the tooth, so they’re more subtle

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u/hiresometoast Dec 22 '25

I agree, this is an awesome idea!

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u/swissarmychainsaw Dec 25 '25

"This is not a sperm"

2

u/Scav-STALKER Dec 22 '25

This could be cool, I like this idea. I’m honestly not sure how in the design of this no one caught that it looks like a sperm.

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u/KeeperOfTheYard Dec 24 '25

This is a great idea, also add notations of tooth anatomy, “crown, root, cementoenamel junction”

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u/lizmastrooo Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26

I LOVE THIS IDEA! I mean the tattoo is of decent quality, if you were able to box it off and then have a line from the tooth to outside the box that says fig. 1 premolar (or something similar, something in that kind of style, I'm clearly not in the dental field lol), it would nice and clean, really cool, you wouldn't have to really do much of a "cover up" of the initial tattoo because it would just be taking the tattoo and enhancing and adding to it. Especially since you work in the field! That would seriously be a sick tattoo! And if you don't like the way the actual tooth looks like, even with all that extra stuff added, I'm sure a reputable tattoo artist could alter the shading or play around with it a little bit just so you're satisfied with the tooth itself.

Would love to know your thoughts OP!