Prevalence and pattern of presentation of mandibular and palatine tori in a NIgerian population

Objective: To determine the prevalence and pattern of presentation of mandibular and palatal tori in a Nigerian population. Method: A prospective observational study of mandibular and palatal tori among adolescents and adults subjects, attending the Oral and Maxillofacial Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, from January to December 2008 was conducted. Patients were examined by visual inspection and digital palpation for the presence of torus palatinus and torus mandibularis. Result: A total of 1004 subjects (424 males, 580females) were examined during the period of the study. The subjects were aged 15-90 years, (mean 32.7 ± 13.5 years). The prevalence of mandibular and/or palatal tori was 13.6% (136 of 1004). Of the 136 subjects, 24 had both mandibular and palatal tori, 48 had palatal tori only and 64 had mandibular tori only. Both the mandibular and palatine tori were commonly seen in female subjects. The most common location was the lingual surface of the mandible around canine-premolar region. The prevalence of mandibular torus was 8.8% and that of palatal torus was 7.2%. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of mandibular tori in both sexes (P=0.48), whereas palatal tori were significantly commoner in females than males (P=0.00). Tori were commonly seen in the 3rd and 4th decades of life and were asymptomatic in 97% of subjects examined. Conclusion: The prevalence of tori in this study was higher than previously reported in Nigeria. Fourteen percent of those examined in the present study were found to have mandibular and/or palatal tori. Tori located on the lingual surface of the mandible around canine-premolar region were the most commonly seen tori in agreement with the previous study from Nigeria. Key words: Torus mandibularis; torus palatinus; Nigerian