Infant oral mutilation in East Africa – therapeutic and ritual grounds

Abstract

Summary This paper reviews the practice and ritual traditions of infant oral mutilation, drawing on a literature search in PubMed and Google Scholar, historical reports, relevant textbooks, NGO materials and personal observations of the authors.

Prevalence and impact of infant oral mutilation on dental occlusion and oral health-related quality of life among Kenyan adolescents from Maasai Mara

“…This result is different from the two above mentioned studies [ 14 , 30 ], which involved mostly the canines. In contrast, the findings of the present study support previous reports from Maasai Mara, which also describes the absence of mandibular incisors as a dominant and characteristic IOM trait in the Maasai population [ 7 , 20 ].…”

“…Infant oral mutilation (IOM) is a traditional practice performed in young children, mostly as germectomy of developing primary or permanent mandibular incisors or canines, or early extraction of these tooth types [ 1 – 5 ]. The rationale for IOM can be either therapeutic or ritual [ 6 , 7 ]. Beyond the removed teeth, dental defects, dental deficiency (aplasia of succedaneous permanent teeth due to IOM on primary teeth), and eruptional disturbances may occur [ 1 , 3 , 8 ].…”

Scarification in sub‐Saharan Africa: social skin, remedy and medical import

“…In this way, young girls may demonstrate their firm ability of bearing pain at childbirth, or to indicate their first menstruation. An important ‘hardening’ process is ‘infant oral mutilation’ (IOM), where teeth are extracted for ritual or pseudomedical reasons .…”

“…We recently described the tradition of infant oral mutilation in indigenous groups in Africa and the customs of labret and lip plug wearing in several ethnic groups in Amazonia and Africa, including their medical consequences . Here, we focus on scarification, or cicatrisation, among indigenous ethnic groups in sub‐Saharan Africa.…”

Labrets in Africa and Amazonia: medical implications and cultural determinants

“…At the age of 6–7 years, the father of a girl performs this procedure under unsterile conditions and without anaesthesia using a knife or a similar metallic tool. Today, this procedure is addressed as ‘infant oral mutilation’ (IOM) . The World Medical Association and several nongovernmental organisations in support of pastoralist tribes in Ethiopia, for example Dentaid (http://dentaid.org/), strongly endorse all plans to cease IOM practices (http://www.wma.net/en/40news/20archives/2004/2004_07/).…”