Abstract
Teeth are physiological phenomenon that appears in child and who begins around 6 to 8 months after birth. The aim of this work was to study superstitious knowledge of the phenomena of teeth eruption in the mothers peulhs of Ferlo in Senegal. The research method was a descriptive and qualitative study; comprising questioning the mothers of children in the phase of active teeth eruption by structured, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Information collected were related to the signs and symptoms of teeth, the superstitions associated with the dental age of eruption, the first type of tooth on the arcade, the rhizalyse and the practices of oral hygiene in the child. Data were analysed manually and presented in framed and of verbatims. From the findings, it is seen that fever, the diarrhoea, the vomiting and the dribbles constituted the principal signs. The native or neonatal tooth and the use of the stick rub-tooth to clean the teeth in the evening and the phenomenon of rhizalyse were related to superstitious interpretations. Programs of information and communication would make it possible to better sensitize the populations to optimize the good practices in the children in active phase of teeth eruption. Key words: Knowledge, superstitions, teeth, child, mother, Senegal.
Highlights
Teeth are a physiological phenomenon which appears in the child and begins around 6 to 8 months after birth
The recent studies carried out in the world through Canada, Australia, the USA or Brazil show a narrow association of some symptomatologies with the phase of teeth in the child (Hulland et al, 2000).In the study of Coreil (Harnet, 1978) 35% of the questioned pediatrists estimated that there exists an association between the diarrhoea and the eruption of the teeth.these signs are understood and interpreted in different ways by the mothers.In the Western countries like France, the mothers have a certain illustration of teeth (Harnet,1978)
Due to the bad knowledge of human physiology of the time, the infants were regarded as being extremely vulnerable to any disturbance of their nervous system and the most important consequences were allotted to the eruption of the new teeth, including death (Philippe, 2011)
Summary
Teeth are a physiological phenomenon which appears in the child and begins around 6 to 8 months after birth. It consists of arcade which expose them in the mouth. It is not expressed only on the oral cavity but on the organization in entirety. The studies on the relation between the teeth and the general state of a child have lasted for more than 5000 years (Owais et al, 2010).
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