REMOVAL OF DECIDUOUS CANINE TOOTH BUDS IN KENYAN RURAL MAASAI

The removal of deciduous canine tooth buds in early childhood is a pra ctice that has been documented in Kenya and in neighboring countries, This paper describes the occurrence, rationale and method of this prac tice amongst rural Kenyan Maasai. In a group of 95 children aged betwe en six months and two years, who were examined in 1991/92, 87% were fo und to have undergone the removal of one or more deciduous canine toot h buds, In an older age group (3-7 years of age), 72% of the 111 child ren examined exhibited missing mandibular or maxillary deciduous canin es,It was found that the actual removal of a deciduous tooth bud is of ten performed by middle-aged Maasai women who enucleate the developing tooth using a pointed pen-knife, There exists a strong belief among t he Maasai that diarrhoea, vomiting and other febrile illnesses of earl y childhood are caused by the gingival swelling over the canine region , and which is thought to contain 'worms' or 'nylon' teeth, The immedi ate and long-term hazards of this practice include profuse bleeding, i nfection and damage to the developing permanent canines, A multi-disci plinary approach involving social anthropologists in addition to denta l and medical personnel, is recommend in order to discourage this harm ful operation that appears to be on the increase.