Tori Removal

A torus is a benign outgrowth of bone from the jaws. The plural form of the word is tori.

Typically, tori form in two different areas. They commmonly grow on the palate (roof of your mouth) as well as on the inner surface of your lower jaw, behind your lower teeth. It is thought that they form in response to heavy chewing forces, but genetics and other factors may also influence their presence and size.

Tori are completely benign. Many people with tori don’t even realize they have them until their dentist brings it to their attention.

Tori may be removed for several reasons:

1. Irritation of the overlying tissue. The bone inside the torus is very dense, and the tissue overlying it is often very thin. As tori get bigger over time, they become more vulnerable to getting scraped and scuffed by food particles during chewing. If this continues to happen, the tori can become very irritated and painful, and can even get infected. The only way to fix this is to remove the torus.

2. If the patient needs a denture. If a torus is large, a denture will not fit well over it. Moreover, the denture will most likely irritate them. Therefore, if a patient desires a denture, the tori that are present on that jaw will need to be removed.

Tori removal is typically performed in the office, either under local anesthesia with or without laughing gas, or with IV sedation if desired.

An incision is made in the thin tissue overlying the torus, and the torus is completely exposed. There are several ways to remove the bone, but it is done with bone-removal instruments. For very dense bone, power tools may be needed. This is not painful, since the area has been anesthetized, but the patient feels vibration and pressure. Once the torus has been removed, the tissue is closed back up with sutures.

To learn more, call our office today to schedule your consultation.