Dental mutilation in southern African history and prehistory with special reference to the "Cape Flats Smile".

Southern Africa has a long history of dental mutilation in the form of dental chipping and of intentional removal of anterior teeth. The first evidence is found in the skeletons of Early Iron Age populations (ca. 1500 years before present), but the incidence decreases in archaeological sites of more recent origin. In modern times, dental mutilation appears to have been limited to the people of the countries further north in Africa, but the one exception is the presence of deliberate incisor removal amongst the communities of the Western Cape. It is hypothesised in this paper that the modern practice in the Cape is associated with youthful gangs in the poorer communities, and acts as part of a rite of passage into adulthood. The "socio-sexual" theory, as reflected in such names as the "passion gap", is shown to be both wrong and insulting. The name "Cape Flats Smile" is recommended as a more appropriate and respectful term for the phenomenon.