What are Tori and Exostoses?

In about five percent of patients, bony growths are found that are normal variants.  An exostosis is a thickening of bone around the teeth.  A torus (plural tori) is a larger area of bone, and can appear in two forms:

Found on the middle of the hard palate or

On the gums adjacent to the tongue.

These bony [...]

Why Replace Missing Teeth?

Many people wonder why it’s necessary to replace missing teeth. Let’s see what happens when a tooth is lost and is not replaced.
For the sake of our example, we’ll presume you have a missing lower molar, as in the photo here. When we’re young and our teeth are erupting, they’re programmed to keep [...]