Tooth ablation

Not to be confused with Dental avulsion, which is caused by dental trauma.
A BaTonga woman with extracted front teeth, for beauty purposes.

Tooth ablation (also known as tooth evulsion, dental evulsion and tooth extraction) is the deliberate removal of a person's healthy teeth, and has been recorded in a variety of ancient and modern societies around the world. This type of dental modification is visually very striking and immediately obvious to other people from the same or different communities. There are numerous reasons for performing tooth ablation, including group identification, ornamentation, and rites of passage such as coming of age, marriage and mourning. The social meaning of tooth evulsion is likely to remain unknown for ancient populations and may have changed over time within those groups. Dental evulsion can significantly affect the emergence, occlusion and wear patterns of the remaining teeth.[1]

  1. ^ Humphrey, Louise T.; Bocaege, Emmy (2008). "Tooth Evulsion in the Maghreb: Chronological and Geographical Patterns". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)