Prevalence of Palatal Exostoses in Patients Who Have Received Periodontal Surgery in the Posterior Maxilla

Removal of torus palatinus and palatal exostoses has been advocated for preprosthetic reasons and to avoid adverse surgical sequelae in the treatment of periodontal disease. Although multiple studies have documented the prevalence of palatal exostoses in skull examinations, to the authors' knowledge, none have reported on the prevalence of these bony protuberances during actual periodontal surgeries. The goal of this retrospective observational case series is to report on the prevalence of palatal exostoses seen during surgeries for the treatment of periodontal disease in the posterior maxilla.

All records from a 30-month period (July 2010 to December 2012) in a single private periodontal practice were reviewed to identify patients who had received guided tissue regeneration, bone grafting, osseous recontouring, or a combination thereof in the posterior maxilla. A total of 168 patients met the inclusion criteria, and 131 of these patients had palatal exostoses removed during surgery.

The 77.97% prevalence of palatal exostoses found during periodontal surgeries in the posterior maxilla in this case series is significantly higher than that reported in previously documented skull examinations.