Is this Tori? - Dental Health Message Board

stromssa · 09-12-2005, 02:00 PM

Hello all,

I need some guidance. Awhile back, I became aware of two small lumps, about the same size (smallish) and almost exactly perpendicular from one another below my gumline on my lower jaw, facing my tongue. (They are basically on either side of my tongue, at the lower jawline). They don't hurt, and I don't know how long they have been there (I suppose it could have been anywhere in the last three to four years). There seems to be gum tissue stretched over them, and they seem to be whitish-colored underneath the tissue.
I've been monitoring their size in the last few months, but they don't seem to have grown in that period of time.
I saw a photo on the Internet of someone's mouth with bumps about the same size (and placed simiarily) and wondered if it was tori. The bumps I have are positioned so deliberately and look so similiar that even though they are a growth, they don't have anything "unusual" looking about them, other than that they are there at all. But they also aren't naked bone; there is tissue over the protrusions.
I also have what appears to be a ridge of bone lining my upper jaw on the left side as well as my lower jaws. These don't protrude too much, but they do seem to look "ridge-like;" they, too, are quite well defined.
I don't drink or smoke, so I can't imagine what could be causing this if it were something like, say, cancer, which is my biggest fear. I guess I just wasn't aware of these lumps and wonder how they could have "snuck up on me."
I have been under a great deal of emotional stress over the last few years and wonder if this condition might be as a result of that? I just don't know what to make of it, and I'm scared.
Thanks for reading; advice is appreciated.

Christai77 · 09-12-2005, 04:01 PM

the bottom, i can probably say are mandibular tori. no big deal, lots of people have them, they are perfectly normal. unless you need to get dentures one day, in which case they have to be removed.

the ridge on the upper is a little bit more intriguing, as i can't ever say i've heard of that. if you are noticing a difference in the coloration of your gums, that is one thing, but i htink you are saying that you can feel a ridge on the cheek side?

stromssa · 09-12-2005, 04:15 PM

Well, I've heard there is another type of tori that can occur on your outer jawline, and that is what it appears to be, though it doesn't seem as obvious as the bumps near my tongue. There is no discoloration of my gums.
I also just read that pressure to the jaw can cause tori, along with heredity.This made me consider: For years, I have been attempting to sleep on three pillows, because I have horrible chronic sinus congestion (allergies-I think to dust mites and mold spores) at night. This is a chronic allergic condition, perpetuated by stress (my job). When I wake up, sometimes I have a headache in the back of my head, and have "stuffy head" due to congestion. I always feel miserable.
Due to my ongoing anxiety and depression regarding all of this, about a year ago, I went on Lexapro. I went on 10 mg., and one of the first things I noticed was that every part of my body that had "stored tension," like my shoulder blade area, and around my jawline, felt very odd, like it was "pulsating." My doctor said this was called "flushing" was normal as your body is suddenly "hit" with a new medication. I went down to 5 mg. after that and those symptoms disappeared. Still, I found it interesting that all of these areas of stored tension were the areas that reacted to this new medication, including the very obvious "pulsating" around my jawline.
While I have no idea what I do at night with regard to sleeping, I do know that I always wake up feeling awful. My face gets puffy, I have dark circles under my eyes, and my head is all congested and stuffed up. The nasal discharge "drains" during the day, and I gradually feel better.
So, I'm wondering if perhaps years of stress and allergies, which caused my nocturnal jaw-clenching, could have caused the tori to develop. I just have a feeling that all of my head-related health problems are linked, since I am an otherwise healthy person. (I don't think it's a dental problem; for example, I had braces in high school and so my overbite was corrected; my allergy problems didn't start until my college years, but they haven't let up since-so we're looking at about a decade of congestion and disturbed sleep).
Any thoughts on this are welcome.

lateeth · 09-16-2005, 01:16 AM

My immediate advice is to consider a different job or doing something to change the one you have. This sounds awful and i really sympathize with you. Do you have the same symptoms if you are vacation for a week or two? As to the bumps on your jaw, i have two on the bottom which just arrived full grown like yours one day and i never felt them forming. I also have a rdige of bone elsewhere. since i do not have your other problems of allergy mine is not from that. think inherited tendency maybe. After the dentist told me not to worry about it I just did not and only considered it an oddity. This past year when i needed bone grafts they came in very useful as the dentist was able to shave them to transfer my own bone from there to the place where i did not have enough bone aruond my teeth. She said the chances of the graft taking are much greater using your own bone so I guess we are lucky to have this extra store of it sitting around in case we need it.

Warah · 09-16-2005, 11:53 AM

Stommsa,

Tori are the most common bony growth in the mouth affecting the midline of the palate and the attached gingiva lingual (tongue side) of the mandible (in your case) This is a very common condition which affects more women than men.

Intially, my thought on the other bony growths is exostoses. This is mostly found in the areas you described--facial aspect (cheek side) of the maxillary and mandibular ridges. These are similar to tori, just in different locations and are pretty common to see.

Tori and exostoses can increase in size with age but usually do not cause any problems.

Another differential diagnosis is an osteoma which is a neoplastic growth. The difference is that the growth is more invasive, lesion is larger, could be confined to the soft tissue and may indicate Gardener's syndrome. I think this condition is pretty rare and have never seen a case myself.

At your next dental check up you might want to mention your concerns just for peace of mind.