title: Labrets in Africa and Amazonia: medical implications and cultural determinants.
abstract: The custom of wearing labrets has a long tradition. Labrets appeared independently several thousand years ago in various culture groups in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Today, apart from diverse body modifications as increasingly practiced in western civilisations, lip plates and plugs are found among a small number of tribal groups only in Africa and Amazonia. We summarise the history of labrets in different societies, describe medical consequences of wearing lip plates and plugs for jaws and teeth and address relevant cultural issues.
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural and Cultural History of Man, Danube Private University, Krems, Austria.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garve
authors.affiliation: Department of Quality and Accreditation, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garve
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural and Cultural History of Man, Danube Private University, Krems, Austria.|Department of Reconstructive Dentistry and Temporomandibular Disorders, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jens C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Türp
authors.affiliation: Institute for Tropical Medicine, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.|Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Christian G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D046288:Body Piercing / Q000266:history*; D001938:Brazil; D003466:Cultural Characteristics / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans
keywords: Africa; Amazonia; abrasion; crowding; cultural identity; gingival retraction; labrets; lip plates; lip plugs; malocclusion; malposition of teeth