The
aims of this study were to determine the prevalence, size, shape, location
of torus palatinus (TP) and torus mandibularis (TM), and to investigate
their sex- and age-related changes in a group of Thai population. One thousand
two hundred subjects were examined for the presence of both tori at the
Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University. The prevalence for TP and
TM in the subjects was 58.1% and 31.9%, respectively. TP was significantly
more common in females than in males (67.3% versus 48.8%; p<0.001). TPs
were frequently found in small and medium sizes, spindle-shaped and often
located at the combined premolar to molar and molar areas. The prevalence
of TM was higher in males than in females (34.8% versus 29.0%; p=0.030).
TM occurred most commonly in small size, bilateral multiple form, and was
often located at the canine to premolar area. There was a significant correlation
between the prevalence of both tori and age (p<0.001 for TP and p=0.004
for TM). The prevalence of both tori in this group of Thai population were
comparable to the Mongoloids and other Asian populations. Statistically
significant differences in the prevalence and size of tori in regard to
sex and age were also evidenced.