RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of palatal tori (TP) and mandibular tori (TM) in a Romanian denture-wearing population in order to see how or if tori influenced the denture design or the treatment planning. BACKGROUND DATA: There are no available data regarding tori in an elderly Romanian population and its implication for treatment planning. It could be considered a local factor influencing the quality of prosthetic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Tori prevalence was investigated in 251 patients, with an average age of 62years. A statistical analysis was made, using odds ratio (OR) for the distribution related to gender and the Chi-squared test for the differences in prevalence related to age groups. Treatment planning difficulties because of presence of tori were recorded. RESULTS: Frequency of TP was significantly higher in both genders (OR=2.0661 and p=0.0446) and non-significant frequency for distribution between genders for TM (OR=0.9421 and p=0.8273). The differences in age groups showed both tori types have a variable prevalence related to age. The most frequent location for TP was found in the posterior one-third and two-thirds of the palate and for TM in the canine and first premolar area presenting with different sizes. CONCLUSIONS: Tori prevalence in our study group is high and is significantly related to age (p<0.05) having a peak at over 60 years. The preferential site of TP in the posterior palatal area and this location has an impact on decision making in treatment planning for the upper denture.