Firstly I will mention myself as it is probably less serious.
I quit smoking a couple of months ago.. nearly 3 actually, and started using nicotine lozenges.
They say that they do cause oral cancer, but I didn't think within weeks of usage..which is why I doubt I have cancer.. but I do have a problem nevertheless.
I have what looks to be a torus palatinus which has grown rapidly over the past few weeks and has been very painful off and on during that time also. I think the lump has always been there but it's only been since I started sucking the lozenges that it has tripled in size and now inflamed.
I wonder if a torus can turn cancerous so have joined here to specifically ask that question before going through the trauma of a biopsy.

Now my husband.. he is a very heavy smoker (around 40 a day), doesn't brush his teeth and drinks around 6 cups of coffee a day also.
I won't kiss him because he reminds me of a Komodo dragon and I am worried I may catch some bacterial infection if I do. LOL
A couple of months ago he woke with a very saw jaw and the left side of his face was very swollen.
Mumps was ruled out and he had an xray of his wisdom teeth which were positioned well.
We put it down to a bacterial infection from poor hygiene whilst his wisdom tooth was cutting through. He was put on an antibiotics which cleared it up in 3 days.

4 days ago the same thing has happened but this time the antibiotics haven't cleared it.. but simply stopped it getting as bad as it did last time.
The doctor has ordered an ultrasound of his jaw and thinks it may be a serious sinister issue but didn't mention the "C" word.. but my husband feels it was implied.

Does his story ring any bells for any members here? He gets the ultrasound tomorrow.


Cheers.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr Vinod K Joshi,

Hi Soretorus

Congrats on quitting smoking!

Unfortunately, the only way to rule out cancer is to do a biopsy. Perhaps your doctor could do a brush biopsy instead of taking a little nip of tissue. In the meantime, is there an alternative to the lozenges that you could use?

Has your dentist ruled out abcesses for your husband? That he responded to the initial antibiotic would indicate some sort of infection.

I hope everything turns out well for both of you.

Julia

Hi Julia,
thanks for your fast response.

I didn't go to the doctor with my husband so I couldn't really get a grasp of what he is looking for. I guess I am the type to ask lots of questions and my husband just assumes (usually the worst). I would have thought bacterial infection, but the antibiotics aren't working as well as they should.. perhaps he needs a different type. He has a penicillin allergy so it's harder to treat infections for him.

In regards to me, I don't know if there is even any point in a biopsy if it's just a torus.. unless they can turn into cancer, which is what I wanted to know.
It's so sore, the thought of any biopsy (brush or otherwise) send shivers down my spine.

As far as the lozenges go, they are stopping me from smoking. I tried patches but they made me very shaky and ill. I don't want to stop cold turkey because my chances of staying off the cigarettes may decrease. I have gone from 5 lozenges a day to 2-3 depending on my stress levels.
I had been smoking for 20 years, so figured the 3ish lozenges a day was a far better option for my health

Hi soretorus

A torus is quite a straight forward clinical diagnosis with no need for a biopsy. As they stick out, they can be subject to trauma from hard foods and get sore but shouldn't cause more bother than that. They do complicate the making of a denture though!

Best wishes

Vinod

Moved Reply:

Hi there,
I am wondering if a Torus palatinus can turn cancerous? Mine is growing really fast (doubled in size of a few weeks) and is painful.

I don't want to go to the doctor for something like an ulcer on a normal torus and I don't want the trauma of a biopsy unless it's really needed.

Thanks for your help.

A torus can grow larger with time and general growth of the body but this is slow and generally is not noticed at all. So I am puzzled that your torus doubled in size in a few weeks. If it keeps growing, get back to your dentist/doctor for another opinion!