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There Is a Hard Lump on the Roof of My Mouth. What Is It?
By the Celestial Dental Centre clinical team · Published
It usually happens by accident. Your tongue finds something on the roof of your mouth, hard and smooth, and you cannot stop going back to it. Then you look it up, and the internet suggests the worst.
So first, the reassuring part.
What is a hard lump in the middle of the roof of my mouth?
Most often it is a torus palatinus.
A torus is simply extra bone. It grows very slowly along the midline of the hard palate, the line that runs from just behind your front teeth back towards your throat. It can be a small ridge, a smooth dome, or a lumpy shape like a few joined pebbles. It is covered in normal-coloured lining and feels rock hard when you press it.
It is not a tumour and does not turn into cancer. Many people have had one since early adulthood and only notice it when something draws their attention there, a burn from hot tea, a scratch from crisp food, or a dentist pointing it out.
What about hard lumps inside my lower jaw, under my tongue?
The same thing, in another place. A torus mandibularis is a bony bump on the inner side of the lower jaw, usually beside the premolars, near where the tongue rests. Very often there is one on each side, roughly mirroring each other.
Some people also have smaller bony bumps along the outside of the gums. Same story, same bone.
Why do some people get them?
Partly family. They run in families and are more common in some populations than others.
Partly force. They are more common in people who clench or grind their teeth, and it is thought the extra load on the jaw encourages the bone to build up. If that sounds like you, the post on grinding at celestialdental.org/teeth-grinding-and-jaw-pain-causes-and-treatment is worth a read.
Do they need to be removed?
Usually not.
They only become a problem in particular situations. The lining over them is thin, so sharp food can scrape them and leave a sore that is slow to settle. They can get in the way of a denture, which needs to sit flat against the palate or the jaw. Occasionally a very large one interferes with speech or swallowing.
In those cases they can be removed in a minor surgical procedure. If none of those apply to you, the right thing to do is nothing, apart from knowing it is there.
There is a small bump right behind my front teeth. Is that a torus too?
Probably not. Just behind the upper front teeth there is a small pad of gum called the incisive papilla. Everyone has one.
You tend to notice it when it is swollen, after a hot drink, a scratch from a bone in your food, or a seed lodged next to it. It goes back to normal as the injury heals. If it stays swollen and tender, or there is a bad taste there, have it looked at, because occasionally a cyst forms in that area.
Which lumps should I have checked?
The ones that do not behave like a torus.
Have it seen if the lump is soft or rubbery rather than bony, if it is off to one side of the palate rather than in the middle, if it has appeared recently or is getting bigger, if it is painful, or if there is an ulcer on top of it.
A tender, soft swelling on the palate next to a back tooth is often a dental abscess pointing towards the roof of the mouth. That needs treatment, and soon, especially if it is getting bigger or you feel unwell. What to do in the meantime is covered at celestialdental.org/dental-abscess-swollen-gum-or-face-what-to-do.
A soft, bluish blister on the inside of the lower lip that fills up, bursts and returns is usually a mucocele, a blocked minor saliva gland. Harmless, but if it keeps returning it can be removed.
A firm, smooth, painless swelling on one side of the palate that has grown slowly over months can come from one of the small saliva glands there, and it needs to be examined properly. Most are benign, but that is a judgement for an examination, not a mirror.
How will a dentist tell what it is?
Mostly by looking and feeling. A torus is usually recognisable on sight: midline, bone-hard, smooth lining, symmetrical if in the lower jaw, unchanged for a long time. An X-ray can confirm it is bone.
Anything that does not fit that picture gets a closer look, and if there is any doubt, a referral or a small sample. That is the normal, careful route, not a sign that something is wrong.
Book an appointment
Call +254 709 000 240 or +254 707 535 000, or book online at celestialdental.org. Branches in Kasarani (Nairobi), Kamakis (Ruiru), Eldoret and Kiambu Road (Thindigua). Kasarani, Kamakis and Eldoret are open every day from 07:00 to 20:00, Kiambu Road every day from 08:00 to 18:00.
If you have been worrying about a lump, it is fine to book just to have it looked at.