Cultural Teeth Alteration

As we know, Western ideals of beauty stress the importance of a straight, white smile. No tooth should be missing or out of its proper place. No wonder so many of us are amazed when we encounter, whether in person or in media, a culture that places the emphasis elsewhere.

We deeply value our pearly whites. But what about the French-colonial Annamese of whom each member of the society was expected to blacken their teeth on aesthetic and moral grounds?

We seek to retain all of our teeth and replace them when they're lost. Many contemporary societies in Africa and Australia hold an ideal of beauty that calls for the removal of teeth. This extraction process is called 'ablation' and is executed with a pointed stick which is knocked from behind with a stone.

There are societies in Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea in which it is customary to file the teeth to sharp points, in some cases as a symbol of maturity. Similar dental modification is also performed by some people in the Western world who wish to express their deep identification with lizards, cats, vampires, and any number of animals and/or monsters.