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.