Tori are far more common in older individuals than in children. Now, tori have a characteristic "look and feel," so if your dentist thinks these are tori, chances are very good that he's right.

There are, unfortunately, a wide variety of "hard growths" that can arise from the jaw bones. Some of these growths arise from the bone itself, while many others arise from the tooth or the tooth root. we are using "growth" in a very loose way to indicate "a lump that does not belong." In some cases, such a growth might represent abnormal development of the underlying tissue (bone, tooth root or tooth); this would include bony growths such as tori and many bony cysts. In other cases, a growth may represent a true neoplasm, or tumor. In the latter group, some tumors are malignant (cancerous), while others are benign (noncancerous). Some growths grow slowly (such as tori), while other growths behave in a much more aggressive fashion.

Thus, the most important task is to confirm that these lumps are tori. It should be possible to confirm this with dental films, but in ambiguous situations other studies may be necessary (such as a "mandible series," a Panorex, or a CT of the mandible). Once the dentist has confirmed the diagnosis, you should question him about the growth characteristics of tori. This information might be well known among dentists.

The torus does not require treatment unless it becomes large to the point where it interferes with denture placement or mouth functions, or suffers from repeated traumatic surface ulceration. Ulceration can be caused by sharp foods, such as potato chips or fish bones. Treatment usually consists of chiseling off the lesions (tori reduction procedure).