Although I think I find something dentally interesting every day, this one is ready for the textbooks. A variation from normal, this condition isn’t usually so eager to jump out of a patient’s mouth and backhand me across the face!
Tori are simply hard lumps made from excess bone development in the mouth. They can vary quite a bit in size but are usually found in these three locations: Floor of the mouth right behind the two central teeth, middle of the palate, and along the sides of the teeth hidden behind the lips. They are named for their location as mandibular (lower) or maxillary (upper) jaw and usually don’t cause any problems for their hosts. Known as hereditary condition, some think that tooth clenching and jaw misalignment can also cause bone forming cells to get overstimulated. A great parallel would be weight bearing exercises that allow strong dense bone to develop in our joints.
Every once in a while, these tori need to be removed with they inhibit the fitting of dentures, appliances, braces, or other dental work. Lower tori can even create a strange shelf that causes food and medications to get jammed underneath.
Take a look in your mouth and see if you have tori. Comment below to join in the conversation!