Tori Removal

If you begin to notice a boney growth appear underneath your tongue on your lower jaw or on the roof of your mouth, you may have developed tori, or Mandibular Tori or Palatal Tori. These growths are not cancerous or typically painful, but can cause problems with speech or eating or an inability to wear dentures or braces. At Oral Implant and Reconstructive Dentistry (OIRD) in Lewis Center, Ohio, we can help!

What Are Tori?

Tori are areas of excessive bone growth inside parts of the mouth. Types of tori get their names from their locations and include:  

• Palatal tori (singular torus palatinus): These bony growths appear on the roof of the mouth in the middle of the hard palate and are the most common type of tori.  

• Mandibular tori (singular torus mandibularis): Bony growths that appear under the tongue on the floor of the mouth and occur slightly less often than palatal tori.  

• Buccal exstoses: The least common type of tori grows on the outside of the upper arch near the molars and touch the cheeks.  

Tori grow very slowly over time and can be any size. Hence, some people may not know that they have them until their dentist or doctor tells them.

Risk Factors for Tori Overgrowth

While dentists don't know exactly what causes people to develop tori, they do recognize that some people have a greater chance of developing tori than others due to a few varying factors. People with tori typically have one or more of the following risk factors:

• Genetics: If one or both of your birth parents had a torus, you have a higher likelihood of developing one yourself or being born with one.  

• Teeth grinding (bruxism): Grinding your teeth, a condition dentists call bruxism, can trigger excessive bone growth around the mouth.  

• Age: People older than 30 have a higher chance of having tori.  

• High bone density: A higher bone density overall, but especially in youth, has a link to the presence of tori.  

• Vitamin deficiencies: Some people with serious deficiencies in some vitamins may have a higher chance of developing tori.  

• Anatomy: The arrangement and seating of the teeth and jaws may affect whether you develop tori.  

Having a risk factor does not guarantee that you will have a torus. Similarly, even without risk factors, you may still develop tori.  

Always consult your dentist about any types of growths in your mouth, even if you feel certain that they are tori. Your dentist can determine whether you have tori and if you need treatment.  

Problems Caused by Tori Overgrowth

Not everyone with tori will experience problems. For those who do have issues, the following rank as the most common:  

• Trouble swallowing  

• Problems chewing or eating  

• Issues with speech  

• Difficulty or inability for a dentist to fit you for dentures, braces, or an athletic mouthguard

• Periodontal disease or bad breath caused by food pieces stuck inside crevasses formed by tori  

Since tori never go away without treatment, you will need to consult with an oral surgeon if your tori give you problems.    

What Happens During Tori Removal Surgery

At Oral Implant and Reconstructive Surgery, our dentists use the most advanced technology available in the field, including dental lasers and PiezoSurgery. Lasers effectively cut into tissue and bone and close blood vessels as they do, reducing pain and bleeding. PiezoSurgery replaces traditional scalpels with ultrasonic waves for accurate, less painful operation on bone growths.  

The specific tools we use for your tori removal will depend on the location and extent of the bone growth. However, regardless of what we use, our team will adhere to a standard tori removal procedure, which includes the following steps:  

1. Provide you with a local anesthesia to numb the area. You may request sedation to help you feel more relaxed during the procedure.  

2. Cut into the tissues over and around the torus to access the bone beneath.  

3. Remove the excess bony growth of the torus.  

4. Stitch the area to keep it closed during recovery.  

What Happens After Tori Removal Surgery?

Expect the following immediately and in the weeks after your tori removal:  

• Pain and discomfort: Once the local anesthesia wears off, you'll feel some pain and discomfort in the area. If your dentist recommends it, use a cold pack on your face to ease some of the discomfort. You should begin to feel improvements only a week or two after your procedure.

• Antibiotics: Some people will receive a course of antibiotics to take after the procedure. If you do, take the entire prescription, even if you feel better. Doing so will reduce the chances of an infection.  

• Diet: You must stick to soft foods for a few days after the surgery. Yogurt, pasta, applesauce, scrambled eggs, fruit smoothies, soups, and mashed potatoes are good options. Avoid anything hot, spicy, acidic, sticky, or hard during recovery.  

• Rinsing: Use antibacterial mouthwash or salt water as directed by your dentist to rinse your mouth after eating. Do not vigorously rinse to avoid damaging the sutures.  

Most people need several weeks to fully recover from tori removal. How long depends on the size and location of the tori.  

Expert Tori Removal

Find relief from speech or eating issues caused by tori in your mouth. Or gain the ability to comfortably wear dentures, mouthguards, or braces. Our team of caring, professional oral surgeons can help. Schedule a visit with our team in Lewis Center, OH, for a tori removal consultation.

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