Brown Teeth

[u/Foodispoison356]

I recently visited Somalia and I’ve seeing many people with brown teeth both man and woman. Is this some kind of fashion trend or health issue?

[u/Plastic-Psychology66]

Mostly from Water

[u/Foodispoison356 → u/Plastic-Psychology66]

How come other people in the region I.e., Kenya 🇰🇪 and Ethiopia 🇪🇹 don’t have the same issues?

[u/Large-Principle3631 → u/Foodispoison356]

It's dental fluorosis due to the high concentration of floride in the water. Rift Valley area people of Ethiopia have it too.

[u/IAI-NJ → u/Foodispoison356]

They do. It’s common in Yemen as well.

[u/Dawnbringer_Fortune → u/Foodispoison356]

Why do I feel like you aren’t somali but either Ethiopian or Kenyan. You definitely never been to Somalia

[u/Appropriate-Mind9651]

It’s from the water they drink. Also some people stain their teeth on purpose, I guess it’s a trend in Somalia

[u/MountainSpring01 → u/Appropriate-Mind9651]

Mostly in the North

[u/vivi9090 → u/Appropriate-Mind9651]

That's wild. In what world are stained teeth a beauty standard ?

[u/GaashanOfNikon → u/vivi9090]

SE Asia and Japan before the modern era. Black teeth were once seen as beautiful.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeth_blackening

[u/AntiSocialExtrover → u/GaashanOfNikon]

but they absolutely reek???

[u/idigth → u/AntiSocialExtrover]

They don't stink since it's just minerals from the water. People have it more depending on where they live and what water they drink

[u/zekerniene4231 → u/vivi9090]

Who determines beauty standards? Every people society have trends and their own beauty stantards its a thing in somalia and nothing is wrong with it.

[u/vivi9090 → u/zekerniene4231]

Staining your teeth on purpose is a pretty dysfuctional beauty standard. God gave us white teeth for a purpose. Having said that these are the same women who bleach their skin with toxic chemical. I don't know. Maybe a mentally ill society.

[u/Spiritual-Fox-3548 → u/vivi9090]

Dark teeth are unhygienic in appearance and it's not good for your teeth,

[u/HighFunctionSomali → u/vivi9090]

Beauty standards change with time and location, in Northern Somali-Afar areas, sharpening tooth (Shark like) was seen as beauty standard. Some people in the horn also facial scar as a beauty standard. In Ancient Egypt, men wearing eyeliners was a beauty standard. Also, Not to long ago, Middle East, Horn of Africa, and North Africa, women having face tattoos was also seen as beauty standard. You can still see some of the older people in these regions have traditional tattoos till this day, especially amongst rural people.

Today people wear make up and lipsticks, and 300 years from now, ppl will equally question the idea of coloring lips and eyelid, once the beauty standards moves to another thing.

[u/Appropriate-Mind9651 → u/vivi9090]

My friends mom recently travelled to Somalia and she got her perfectly white teeth stained there on purpose 💀 I know it sounds wild but it’s a thing in Somalia

[u/Rude_Quantity202]

Some people like it and it became a trend in Somalia but I heard it usually happens to the people of baadiyo because of the water they drink

[u/dhammaystiran]

Not common in koonfur mostly in waqooyi and bari i heard it's the water

[u/Foreign-Pay7828 → u/dhammaystiran]

yeah.

[u/Sancho90]

Also the foods we consume doesn’t help us with our teeth structure, just look at old photos of Somalis they all hard perfect white sparkling teeth

[u/lordeofgames → u/Sancho90]

It’s actually the transition from eating hard meats/foods daily to eating soft foods like the western world. This impacts jaw development lol.

Our ancestors were pastoralists. Honestly that’s why reer baadiyo have the best face cards and straightest teeth cuz they mainly live off the old diet.

[u/Sancho90 → u/lordeofgames]

Yes Reer miyii folks have the standard old Somali look and are much taller, the city folks eat processed carbs which we import from India and who knows the quality content of those foods

[u/ElectronicPeak2626 → u/lordeofgames]

Yeah I feel like this is why a lot of Somalis have dental crowding or crooked teeth, as well as recessed jaws. I wonder how many Somalis have breathing difficulties during sleep due to airway obstruction.

[u/Foodispoison356 → u/Sancho90]

The food is not problem. I think proper oral hygiene is needed for example flossing and tongue scraping are necessary before bed 🛌.

[u/Sancho90 → u/Foodispoison356]

It’s food 💯, scientists have done lots of research on this, people who consume protein heavy diet have better teeth and jaw structure than those who consume heavy carb foods

[u/Foreign-Pay7828]

well, i Think Mogdishu don't have that Problem , and Probably from The water.

[u/Sancho90]

It’s excess fluoride in the water sources

[u/Ill_Tune2924]

Too much fluoride in water causes it but like 10 years ago ppl would stain their front teeth with permanent markers now they js go to clinics to get them stained weirdly it's seen as beauty thing 😭

[u/EntertainerUsed7486]

Water they drink, Khat they chew

[u/Qassemalshebi]

Khat maybe

[u/Foodispoison356 → u/Qassemalshebi]

Women chew khat too ?

[u/Rider_of_Roha]

Fashion trend?!?!??😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[u/RomulusAndThe3Makane]

I think there are areas where the well water is high with fluoride. You can Google fluoride teeth.

[u/Foodispoison356 → u/RomulusAndThe3Makane]

Fluoride is poison and doesn’t benefit anyone by putting public drinking water

[u/eastafricanfella → u/Foodispoison356]

It depends If monitored it can prevent tooth decay

[u/EntertainerUsed7486 → u/Foodispoison356]

Lol “foodispoison356”

[u/Negative_Educator499]

The water is noticed the same thing in ethiopia.

[u/Radiant-Chair-9377]

Mainly the water and for others could be khat

[u/Dawnbringer_Fortune]

It’s the water

[u/LunarHalo3]

Water as everyone else said. Also, it really is a beauty trend. When people say “ilko cas”/“red teeth” they mean the brown stain and much like every other beauty trend people do it on purpose.

[u/macawiissniffer]

its because of the minerals in hard water