Niels Ganzer – Booy Foundation

ORTHO-AMSTERDAM 2026

10 International Keynote Speakers

Thursday 25 June – Friday 26 June 2026 – Heineken Experience – Amsterdam

Curriculum Vitae – Niels Ganzer

Niels Ganzer is a senior consultant in orthodontics and currently the head of the orthodontics and pedodontics clinics in the Public Dental Health of Gävleborg County, Sweden. Further, he is a lecturer at the Department for Dental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Huddinge/Stockholm, Sweden.

Niels holds a degree as a doctor of dental surgery from Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany. He did his postgraduate training in Örebro and Gävle, Sweden, and holds a PhD from Malmö University, Sweden.

Abstract

Lecture: Why do we see more missing permanent canines these days?

In recent years, we have seen an increased frequency of patients with agenesis of the lower canine, a condition that was previously very rare. Then some publications reported that agenesis of canines was frequently seen in patients who had been subject to Infant Oral Mutilation (IOM). IOM is a traditional practice primarily found in East Africa involving the removal of primary canine tooth buds in infants. The prevalence varies substantially across regions, ranging from 2% to 87% in different East African populations, and the practice persists among diaspora communities in Western countries. The procedure is performed by traditional healers using crude, unsterilized instruments without anesthesia, resulting in serious immediate complications, including septicemia, tetanus, meningitis, blood-borne disease transmission, and mortality rates of 21% among hospitalized children. The literature consistently demonstrates that IOM is a harmful practice with severe health consequences that requires increased awareness among healthcare professionals. However, the long-term effects on dental development and orthodontic treatment needs remained unclear.

In this lecture you will learn more about the characteristic damages after IOM and which impact IOM can have on the permanent dentitions of adolescents.