title: Prevalence of mandibular and palatine tori among the Ibos in Enugu, South-East Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Torus mandibularis (TM) and torus palatinus (TP) are believed to occur commonly among black Africans. There is a dearth of literature on Nigerians. The few reported studies were done in the South-West Nigeria. This is the first report of the prevalence of tori among the Ibo-speaking ethnic group in the South-East Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a prospective cross-sectional study of 3000 subjects of Ibo ethnic extraction attending a dental clinic in Enugu, South-East Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three thousand subjects were examined for the isolated and concurrent occurrence of TM and TP. The subjects were seen over a 4-year period. The age, sex, ethnic group, type of tori based on location, and symptomatic awareness of tori presence were documented.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. The level of significance was P< 0.05. The Chi-square test showed no statistically significant difference between gender and type of tori (P = 0.34). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference between the age groups and type of tori (P = 0.38).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and ninety-two subjects were clinically diagnosed with tori, of which females constituted 88%, and males constituted 12%. Isolated TM occurred in 56.8% (166 of 292) subjects, isolated TP in 17.5% (51 of 292) subjects, and concurrent tori (TM and TP) in 25.7% (75 of 292) subjects. The peak occurrence was in the fifth decade. The overall prevalence was 9.7%. The prevalences of TM (isolated and concurrent) and TP (isolated and concurrent) were 8.0% and 4.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence values are within the range of values reported in other Nigerian studies but differ widely with values from other ethnic groups from other countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Maduakor
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Pathology Unit, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Nwoga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001699:Biometry; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003740:Dental Clinics; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005096:Exostoses / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D010159:Palate; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult