Abstract

The Association between Torus Palatinus Development and Oral/Occlusal States in a Group of Healthy Dentate Subjects

Koji Morita, Hiroki Tsuka, Kan Kato, Kazuya Doi, Koh-ichi Kuremoto, Mineka Yoshikawa, Mitsuyoshi Yoshida, Kazuhiro Tsuga

Torus palatinus is a form of exostosis, most commonly found on midline region of palatum. This study was designed to measure the association between the development of torus torus palatinus (TP) and oral/occlusal states in young healthy dentate subjects. The sample was determined by intending for all students who participated for early exposure practice in this cross-sectional study. The predictor variables were oral symptom (temporomandibular joint noise, tooth clenching/grinding, buccal mucosa ridging, dental attrition, tongue habit), oral anatomy (occlusal vertical dimension), oral function (average occlusal pressure, occlusal contact area and maximum voluntary tongue pressure) in this study. The outcome variable was TP development (present or absent). The other variables were demographic (age, number of residual teeth, weight, gender). These items were compared among the subjects with and without TP using univariate analyses and multiple logistic regression analysis. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS System ver.19 for Windows. Among 204 subjects, 102 were male (50.0%). Mean age was 22.4 ± 2.7 years old, mean number of residual teeth was 28.8 ± 2.0, and mean weight was 57.7 ± 9.9 kg. Subjects with torus palatinus were prone to be female, lighterbuild, and have tooth clenching/grinding, buccal mucosa ridging. Subjects with torus palatinus had lower occlusal vertical dimension or average occlusal pressure than those without TP. However, maximum voluntary tongue pressure of subjects with torus palatinus was not significantly different from that of subjects without torus palatinus. After adjusting the potential confounders, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that TP development was related to occlusal vertical dimension and average occlusal pressure (p<0.05). This study revealed that TP development induced the change of oral/occlusal states such as occlusal vertical dimension and average occlusal pressure in young healthy dentate subjects. This study will give readers useful information to prevent TP development before middle age.