Tori: Torus Palatinus and Mandibular Tori (Bony Bumps in the Mouth)
A torus palatinus is a hard, bony bump in the middle of the roof of your mouth, and mandibular tori are similar bumps on the inside of your lower jaw next to your tongue. Most people discover them by accident and worry. They're normal bone, they're very common, and they're harmless.
Tori are harmless overgrowths of normal bone. A torus palatinus sits in the midline of the hard palate. Mandibular tori sit on the tongue side of the lower jaw, usually on both sides. They're not cancer, not contagious, and usually need no treatment. They grow slowly, if at all. See a dentist if one gets sore often, interferes with a denture, or if a lump is soft, fast-growing, or one-sided.
Not sure this is what you have? Answer five quick questions in our mouth spot checker. It compares what you see with more than 40 common conditions and tells you how soon to have it looked at.
- What are tori?
- What tori look like
- Torus palatinus vs. mandibular tori
- How common are tori?
- What causes tori?
- Do tori grow or go away?
- Are tori dangerous or cancer?
- Sore or cut tori
- Do tori need to be removed?
- What torus removal involves
- Tori on X-rays and 3D scans
- Dentures, implants and medical conditions
- Other bumps on the roof of the mouth
- What a dentist can do
- When to see a dentist
- FAQ
What are tori?
A torus (plural: tori) is a smooth, hard lump of extra bone that grows from the jaw. Dentists call these growths exostoses. The bone is completely normal. It's just more of it, in a predictable spot.
There are two classic types, plus a related third:
- Torus palatinus (palatal torus): on the roof of the mouth, right down the midline.
- Torus mandibularis (mandibular torus): on the inside of the lower jaw, on the tongue side, usually near the premolars. When there's more than one, they're called mandibular tori.
- Buccal exostoses: smaller bony bumps along the cheek side of the gums, most often by the back teeth.
You might also hear "dental torus" or "bony growth in the mouth." Same thing.
What tori look like
Torus palatinus pictures and photos of mandibular tori all share a few features:
- Rock hard. Press on one and it doesn't give at all, because it's bone.
- Covered by normal tissue. The surface is pink like the rest of the mouth, sometimes paler where the tissue is stretched thin.
- Smooth and rounded. They can be a single smooth ridge, a spindle, or a cluster of lobes like a bunch of grapes.
- Symmetrical and in a typical spot. Palatal tori sit in the middle of the palate. Mandibular tori usually show up on both sides.
- Painless, unless the thin tissue on top gets scraped.
Sizes range from barely noticeable to large enough to fill much of the palate or touch the tongue.
Torus palatinus vs. mandibular tori
| Torus palatinus | Mandibular tori (torus mandibularis) | Buccal exostoses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | Midline of the hard palate | Tongue side of the lower jaw, near the premolars | Cheek side of the gums, mostly by the back teeth |
| How many | One, sometimes lobulated | Usually both sides (the large majority of cases) | Often several small bumps |
| Who | More common in women | More common in men | More common with age |
| Shape | Flat, spindle, nodular or lobulated | Single round lump or a row of lobes | Small, rounded ridges |
| Most common problem | Gets in the way of an upper denture | Gets in the way of a lower partial or denture, traps food, gets scraped | Usually none. Thin tissue can get scraped. |
How common are tori?
Very. Tori are among the most common things we see on an exam, and most people who have them never knew.
The numbers vary a lot depending on who's studied. Across published research, reported rates range from almost none to more than half of a group for torus palatinus, and from under 1% to more than 60% for mandibular tori. In one large study of U.S. and international adults using 3D dental models, torus palatinus showed up in roughly 15% to 35% of women depending on ancestry, and less often in men. Mandibular tori are more common in some East Asian and Arctic populations. Whatever group you're in, having tori is well within normal.
What causes tori?
Nobody knows the full answer. The best evidence points to a mix of two things:
- Genetics. Tori clearly run in families. Many people with a torus have a parent or sibling with one.
- Functional stress on the jaws. Bone responds to load. Heavy clenching and tooth grinding (bruxism) may encourage the bone to thicken, especially for mandibular tori and buccal exostoses. Some studies support this link and others don't find it, so it's likely one piece of the picture rather than the whole cause.
Diet, vitamins, and calcium intake have all been proposed, but none has strong evidence. Tori are not caused by an infection, and nothing you did "gave" you one.
Do tori grow or go away?
Tori usually appear in early adulthood and can grow very slowly over decades. Many stop growing altogether. It's common for someone to notice a torus for the first time in their 30s or 40s and assume it's new, when it has probably been there for years.
They don't go away on their own. Bone doesn't melt back down once it's formed. Since grinding may play a role, a night guard for bruxism is reasonable for people who clench hard, mostly to protect the teeth.
What should get your attention is change: a lump that grows noticeably over weeks or months, turns soft, becomes painful without being scraped, or appears on only one side in an unusual spot. That's not typical torus behavior and needs an exam.
Are tori dangerous or cancer?
No. Tori are benign. They're not cancer, they don't turn into cancer, and they don't spread. "Mandibular torus cancer" is a common search, and the honest answer is that tori themselves carry no cancer risk.
The caution is about mistaking something else for a torus. A true torus is rock hard, smooth, symmetrical, and in its usual spot, and it changes slowly if at all. Get it looked at if a lump:
- Is soft, rubbery, or spongy instead of bone hard
- Sits off to one side of the palate rather than in the midline
- Has grown quickly over weeks or months
- Is ulcerated, bleeding, or painful without an obvious scrape
- Comes with numbness, loose teeth, or a denture that suddenly doesn't fit
Most of those still turn out to be harmless, but a biopsy is the only way to know for sure. Our pages on signs of oral cancer and oral cancer screening explain what we look for.
Sore tori: why they get scraped and slow to heal
The tissue covering a torus is stretched thin and has a limited blood supply. A tortilla chip, a hard crust, a toothbrush, or a dental X-ray sensor can scrape it and leave a painful raw spot or small ulcer. These usually heal in one to two weeks, though they often feel slower than a sore elsewhere in the mouth.
- Rinse with warm salt water (½ teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) 3–4 times a day.
- Protect it. An over-the-counter protective paste or film can cover the spot during meals.
- Eat soft foods for a few days and skip chips, crusty bread and anything sharp.
- Use a pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen if needed, as the label directs.
- Call us if it hasn't healed in 2 weeks, or sooner if you see bare, yellowish bone or you take bone-strengthening medicine (more on that below).
| Over-the-counter option | What it does | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| Protective pastes, patches and films | Cover the raw spot so food doesn't rub it | Dry the area with gauze first so it sticks |
| Numbing gels (benzocaine, lidocaine) | Short-term relief, handy before meals | Do not use benzocaine in children under 2. The FDA warns it can cause a rare but dangerous blood condition (methemoglobinemia). |
| Alcohol-free antiseptic rinse | Keeps the area clean | Alcohol-based rinses sting |
| Pain relievers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen) | Overall pain control | Swallow them. Don't hold a pill against the sore. |
Do tori need to be removed?
Usually not. Most people live their whole lives with tori and never need anything done. Removal makes sense when a torus causes a real problem:
- Dentures or partials. This is the most common reason. A large palatal torus can keep an upper denture from sealing, and mandibular tori can block the base or metal bar of a lower partial. Removing them before new dentures are made can make a big difference in comfort and fit.
- Dental implants. A torus can sometimes get in the way of planning or placing dental implants, or of the restoration on top.
- Food trapping under large lobes that's hard to keep clean.
- Repeated injury, where the same spot keeps getting cut and ulcerated.
- Speech or tongue space, when tori are large enough to crowd the tongue.
- A source of bone. Occasionally a surgeon removes a torus and uses that bone as a graft elsewhere in the mouth.
- Planning ahead for medical treatment. In some people facing head and neck radiation, the team may decide to address tori that are likely to cause trouble later.
Size alone isn't a reason. A big torus that isn't bothering you can be left alone.
What torus removal involves (palatal and mandibular)
Torus removal, including torus mandibularis removal, is done by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. We'll examine you, take any imaging needed, and coordinate the referral. Here's what to expect in general terms:
- Anesthesia: local anesthetic, often with sedation for comfort.
- The procedure: the surgeon lifts the gum tissue, reduces the extra bone, smooths the area, and stitches the tissue back. It usually takes under an hour.
- Recovery: expect soreness and swelling for several days and a soft diet for a week or two. For palatal tori, some surgeons place a clear protective plate over the palate while it heals.
- Possible complications: bleeding, swelling or bruising, slow healing of the thin tissue, and temporary numbness. Rare complications depend on the location, and the surgeon will go over them with you.
- Coming back: recurrence after removal is uncommon.
If the removal is in preparation for dentures, the denture is usually made after the area heals.
Tori on X-rays and 3D scans
Tori are diagnosed by looking and feeling, so most don't need any imaging. They do show up on dental X-rays as bright, dense areas that can overlap the tooth roots. When removal or implants are being planned, a 3D cone beam CT scan shows exactly how big and thick the bone is and where nearby structures sit. Learn more about our digital and 3D imaging.
Tori with dentures, implants and medical conditions
Denture and partial wearers
If you wear a denture or partial and have tori, sore spots over the torus are common. We can relieve the denture over the torus, reline it, or design a new one around it. If that isn't enough, removal before a new denture is the usual next step. See our dentures page.
People on osteoporosis or bone-strengthening medicines
Medicines such as alendronate (Fosamax), zoledronic acid, and denosumab (Prolia, Xgeva) lower the risk of fractures but can, rarely, make jawbone slow to heal after an injury. The thin tissue over tori makes them one of the spots where exposed bone can show up. Tell us if you take one of these, and call if a sore spot on a torus doesn't heal or you see bare bone. Read more about osteoporosis medications and your dental health.
Head and neck radiation
Radiation to the jaws reduces the bone's ability to heal. If you're facing head and neck cancer treatment, we look closely at tori and other trouble spots before treatment starts and work with your cancer team on a plan. Learn about our head and neck cancer dental care.
Kids and teens
Tori are uncommon in young children and usually appear in the late teens or adulthood. A hard lump in a young child's mouth, or one that's growing quickly, should be examined.
Other bumps on the roof of the mouth
A bump on the roof of the mouth is one of the most searched mouth worries, and a torus is only one possible answer. Some bumps are normal anatomy you've just never noticed. Others are short-lived injuries. A few need a closer look. Where the bump is, how it feels, and whether it hurts tell you a lot.
Hard bump on the roof of the mouth (not painful)
A hard bump on the roof of the mouth that sits right in the middle, feels like bone, and doesn't hurt is almost always a torus palatinus. A bump on the roof of the mouth that's not painful but feels firm or rubbery rather than bony, and sits off to one side, is different. That description fits a minor salivary gland tumor, and the palate is the most common place in the mouth for them. Many are benign, some are not, and all need a biopsy.
Red bumps on the roof of the mouth
Red bumps or spots on the roof of the mouth usually come from irritation or infection rather than anything serious:
- A burn from hot pizza, coffee or soup leaves a red, peeling, tender patch toward the front. It heals in about a week.
- Nicotine stomatitis ("smoker's palate"): the back of the hard palate turns white and leathery with small red dots, which are the inflamed openings of tiny salivary glands. It's linked to pipe, cigar and cigarette smoking and very hot drinks, and it usually fades after quitting. Because tobacco is involved, we like to check it.
- Small red spots (petechiae) on the soft palate can come with strep throat, mononucleosis, coughing or vomiting, or suction.
- Clusters of tiny painful sores on the hard palate are often a flare of the cold sore virus inside the mouth.
- Under an upper denture, a red, pebbly palate can be denture stomatitis, often a yeast overgrowth like oral thrush, or inflammatory papillary hyperplasia (many small red bumps from a loose or constantly worn denture).
- A red, lumpy growth that bleeds easily may be a pyogenic granuloma.
| Bump | What it feels or looks like | Where | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incisive papilla | Small, soft, pink pad. Can get puffy and sore after a burn or a sharp food. | Just behind the two upper front teeth, midline | Normal anatomy. Soreness settles in days. |
| Torus palatinus | Rock hard, smooth or lobulated, painless | Midline of the hard palate | Nothing, unless it interferes with a denture or keeps getting cut |
| Pizza burn | Red, raw, peeling, sometimes a small blister | Front half of the palate | Cool foods, salt-water rinses. Heals in about a week. |
| Canker sore | Painful shallow ulcer with a red border | Soft palate toward the back. Rare on the hard palate. | Heals in 1–2 weeks |
| Mucocele | Tiny clear blisters that pop quickly and may recur | Soft palate or back of the hard palate | Usually harmless. See us if they keep coming back. |
| Abscess from a tooth | Soft, tender, red swelling that may drain pus or taste bad | Next to an upper tooth, often a back tooth or a lateral incisor | Needs dental treatment soon. Swelling with fever is urgent. |
| Nicotine stomatitis | White, thickened palate with red dots | Back of the hard palate | Quit tobacco. Have it examined. |
| Papilloma | Small, soft, white or pink, cauliflower or finger-like surface | Soft palate, uvula, anywhere | Benign. Usually removed and checked. |
| Minor salivary gland tumor | Firm or rubbery, smooth dome, may look bluish. Painless and slow-growing. | One side of the back of the hard palate | Needs a biopsy |
A palate lump that needs a prompt look
- It's on one side rather than right in the midline
- It's firm or rubbery but not bone hard
- It's growing, or it's ulcerated, bleeding, or numb
- It's a red or white patch that hasn't healed in 2 weeks
These are the features of a minor salivary gland tumor or another lesion that needs a biopsy. Most still turn out to be benign, but only a biopsy can tell. See our oral medicine and diagnosis page for how we evaluate these.
What a dentist can do for tori
- Confirm it's a torus. For most people a look and a feel are all it takes, and it's often the most reassuring two minutes of the visit. We check them at every comprehensive exam.
- Treat a sore spot and check that it's healing.
- Adjust or design dentures and partials around tori.
- Make a night guard if clenching or grinding is part of the picture.
- Order imaging when it's needed for planning.
- Refer for removal to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon when tori get in the way, and coordinate the dental plan around it.
- Biopsy or refer any lump that doesn't behave like a torus.
When to see a dentist about tori or a bump in your mouth
Make an appointment if:
- You've just noticed a hard bump and want to know what it is
- A sore spot on a torus hasn't healed in 2 weeks
- Tori keep getting cut, trap food, or make your denture or partial uncomfortable
- You're planning dentures, a partial, or implants
- A lump seems to be getting bigger
- A bump on the roof of the mouth is on one side, soft or rubbery, or isn't bone hard
Get care quickly if:
- You see bare, yellowish bone in your mouth, especially if you take osteoporosis medicine or had head and neck radiation
- There's swelling with fever, a bad taste or pus, which can mean a tooth abscess
- Swelling is spreading to your face, eye, or neck, or makes it hard to swallow or breathe
For urgent problems, see our emergency dental care page.
Tori FAQ
What is torus palatinus?
Torus palatinus is a harmless bony growth in the middle of the roof of the mouth. It's normal bone covered by normal tissue, and it feels rock hard. It's very common, more often in women, and usually needs no treatment unless it gets in the way of a denture or keeps getting scraped.
What are mandibular tori?
Mandibular tori are hard bony bumps on the inside of the lower jaw, on the tongue side, usually near the premolars. Most of the time they appear on both sides. They're benign, and most people never need them treated.
Are tori dangerous or cancerous?
No. Tori are benign growths of normal bone. They don't turn into cancer or spread. A lump that's soft, one-sided, growing quickly, ulcerated or painful doesn't fit the pattern of a torus and should be examined, and a biopsy is the only way to know what it is.
Why did my tori get bigger?
Tori can grow slowly over many years, and heavy clenching or grinding may contribute. Many people also notice a torus for the first time in adulthood and think it's new. Slow change over years is typical. Noticeable growth over weeks or months isn't, and it should be checked.
Do tori need to be removed?
Usually not. Removal makes sense when tori interfere with dentures, partials or implants, trap food, keep getting cut, or affect speech. If none of that is happening, they can be left alone no matter how big they are.
What causes tori?
Tori come from a mix of genetics and stress on the jaws. They run in families, and clenching or grinding may encourage the bone to thicken, though research on grinding is mixed. They aren't caused by infection, and nothing you did caused them.
Can tori go away on their own?
No. Tori are bone, and they don't shrink or dissolve once they've formed. They can stay the same size for decades. The only way to get rid of one is surgical removal by an oral surgeon.
What does torus mandibularis removal involve?
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon numbs the area, often with sedation, lifts the gum tissue, reduces the extra bone, and stitches the tissue back. Expect several days of soreness and swelling and a soft diet for a week or two. Recurrence afterward is uncommon.
Can I wear dentures if I have tori?
Often, yes. Small tori can usually be worked around by shaping the denture. Large ones can stop an upper denture from sealing or block a lower partial, and removing them before the new denture is made is common. We'll look at the size and shape and talk through options.
What is the bump on the roof of my mouth?
If it's in the middle, rock hard and painless, it's most likely a torus palatinus. A small soft pad right behind the front teeth is the incisive papilla, which is normal. A sore red patch toward the front is usually a burn. A firm lump off to one side toward the back should be checked by a dentist.
Why do I have red bumps on the roof of my mouth?
Common causes include burns from hot food, irritation under a denture, yeast infection, a cold sore virus flare, tobacco use (nicotine stomatitis), and small red spots from strep throat or mono. Most clear up once the cause is treated. Red or white patches that don't heal in two weeks should be examined.
Why does my torus hurt?
The tissue over a torus is thin and scrapes easily on chips, crusty bread, or a toothbrush. These sore spots usually heal in one to two weeks with salt-water rinses and soft foods. If it doesn't heal, or you see bare bone, see a dentist, especially if you take osteoporosis medicine.
Found a bump and want to know what it is?
If you're in the Jacksonville area and you've noticed a hard bump in your mouth, a torus that keeps getting sore, or tori that make your denture uncomfortable, we're glad to take a look. Dr. Henley sees patients with all kinds of oral soft tissue and bone findings, from everyday tori to complex oral medicine cases.
Related conditions
Sources
- Loukas M, Hulsberg P, Tubbs RS, et al. The tori of the mouth and ear: a review. Clin Anat. 2013;26(8):953–960.
- El Sergani AM, Anderton J, Brandebura S, et al. Prevalence of torus palatinus and association with dental arch shape in a multi-ethnic cohort. Homo. 2020;71(4):273–280.
- Telang LA, Telang A, Nerali J, Pradeep P. Tori in a Malaysian population: morphological and ethnic variations. J Forensic Dent Sci. 2019;11(2):107–112 (published online January 2020).
- Jainkittivong A, Langlais RP. Buccal and palatal exostoses: prevalence and concurrence with tori. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2000;90(1):48–53.
- Yih WY, Kratochvil FJ, Stewart JC. Intraoral minor salivary gland neoplasms: review of 213 cases. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2005;63(6):805–810.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Risk of serious and potentially fatal blood disorder prompts FDA action on oral over-the-counter benzocaine products. 2018.
This page is for general education and isn't a diagnosis. Every mouth is different. If you have a sore you're worried about, see your dentist or physician. Photos marked Wikimedia Commons are used under their listed licenses and may have been cropped or resized.