title: Prevalence of torus palatinus in a population of young and adult Israelis.
abstract: The prevalence of torus palatinus, a common exostosis with a debatable pathogenesis, was epidemiologically investigated in a group of 1002 Israeli Jews. This protuberance was observed in 21% of the entire sample, with non-significant differences among different age groups. The smooth type of torus was noted in 72.9%, 68.1% were smaller than 2 cm, and 53.8% were located in the molar area only. The prevalence of torus palatinus in the combined molar-premolar area increased with age, whereas in the molar area it decreased, expressing a significant relation between location and age (p < 0.01). The prevalence of tori larger than 2 cm was much higher in the 21-year and older age groups than in the younger groups. The diverse prevalence of torus palatinus in some of the ethnic groups was also statistically significant (p < 0.05). The aetiology of this common osseous outgrowth is probably multifactorial, including environmental factors acting in a complicated and unclear interplay with genetic factors.
authors.affiliation: Section of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorsky
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raviv
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kfir
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moskona
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001641:Bicuspid; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology; D004777:Environment; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005096:Exostoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007585:Jews / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008439:Maxillary Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008963:Molar; D010159:Palate / Q000473:pathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors