A Fatal Case of Infant Oral Mutilation Practice

Abstract

Infant oral mutilation (IOM) is a traditional dental practice where traditional healers enucleate primary canine tooth buds in children in the hope of preventing or curing childhood illness. The method applied is heinous, painful, and carried out in unsterile environment, and this increases the morbidity and mortality of children from the communities where IOM is rife. The case report described here arose from a village, where an infant with a medical issue ended up in the hands of a local traditional healer who enucleated her four primary canine tooth buds. The traditional treatment resulted in the fatality of the child in <24 h of the procedure, a testimony that some traditional therapeutic procedures have no place in managing common childhood illnesses.

Keywords: Enucleation of primary canines; infant oral mutilation; traditional dental practice.

Figure 1

An illustration of upper and lower gum pads of an infant with arrows pointing to the canine bulge

Figure 2

The child after undergoing infant oral mutilation and soon after admission when putting on intravenous feeding and oxygen. Notice also the extensive bleeding that had taken place