palatal torus bone

Hi, we have a 13month old baby and about 5months ago i noticed a raised lump in the roof of her mouth, almost like a squashed pea, flesh in colour. We took her to the hospital today, our doctor said that it looks like a "palatal torus" bone protrusion. It does not appear to affect her in anyway, although may be hard to tell as she is not talking yet. Can you shed some light on this,  if it sounds like one or maybe something else? Many thanks.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

A palatal torus is just some excess bone that tends to grow on the palate.  Its happens and it considered normal for all intents and purposes.  If its not large and doesn't affect her speech, it probably won't be anything that'll be an issue.  The only time we may be concerned about a palatal torus is the use of a denture.  If the torus is too big, it can make putting in a denture hard in which case we would remove it but other than that, you can pretty much leave it alone.  You can also get this bone growth on the bottom jaw, it is called a mandibular tori.

Just FYI, I got a small palatal torus too and I don't have any plans to remove it.  =)

By the way, your daughter is probably due for a quick checkup.  It is recommended that children get a check up by age one.  I would recommend seeing a family dentist or a pediatric dentist to discuss the issue further but I don't imagine it will be an issue at all in the long term.  The reason for the checkup is just that, a checkup as well as a good time to go over oral health care and prevention for your daughter to reduce the risk of cavities as she grows up.