Hi Bailey,

From your post it sounds like you had bone loss in your upper arch and even with the lifts and grafts there was only enough solid bone to place the mini (imteck) implants. They work fine with holding in a denture, if the existing bone is healthy and they integrate well with it. Did the dentist place implants in the front area that he said was soft and porous? If so, then those implants could be a potential problem due to the lack of solid integration between implant and bone. Did he talk to about that? Perhaps he didn't place implants in that area?

It would be wise to have another bone density test done to compare to the last one you had 3 years ago. Women in their 50's tend to start to have a decrease in bone mass due to in part hormonal imbalances and vitamin D deficiencies. It may also be a good idea to have your vitamin D levels tested with a specific serum test called 25 (OH) D. The health and balance of our hormones including cholesterol as well as many other physical issues depend on adequate levels of vitamin D contiuously circulating in our blood.

Congratulations on quitting smoking!! Hopefully one day you can wean yourself off of the nicorette too!

With regard to dental side affects of using nicorette and drinking alot of alcohol........ sorry to be a party pooper.......but you asked ........

Nicorette works by pushing the nicotine from the gum into the gum tissue.
As you probably already know, nicotine constricts blood vessels which causes a restriction in the circulation of blood. Our gum tissue and jawbone need continual blood circulation as nourishment to stay healthy. Without it, the incidence of cavities, infections and periodontal disease increase. Nicotine in any form is also a known contributor to oral cancer especially in people who tend to have any form of mouth ulcers....... herpes or other. Even in someone who has an occasional mouth ulcer..... the nicotine alters the cell structure of that ulcer and predisposes that site to malignancy.

Alcohol in any form..... liquor, mouthwash, toothpaste, etc..... acts as drying agent decreasing the salivary flow from the many oral saliva glands. The lack of saliva predisposes a person to cavities, mouth ulcers and periodontal disease. Any long standing irritation or infection in the mouth can become malignant.

Dental implants also need a healthy blood supply circulating through the gums and jawbone as well as plenty of saliva flowing to reduce the incidence of bone loss and infection around the implants. Dentures are fabricated to allow saliva to flow underneath them as much as possible.

The one thing that I didn't understand in your post was........
<<I told him that from what I knew the treatment meds interfere with implant success but he replied only if you have been on those meds for a lot of years and in my case if I do have to use them it would probably only be for about 6 months.>>

Are you referring to Bisphosphonate drugs........ like actonel, boniva, fosamax, zometa? If so, I urge you to read as much as possible on osteonecrosis of the jawbone in regard to taking bisphosphonate drugs. Especially in people who have osteopenia......... there are nutritional ways to slow down or prevent further bone loss without having to ever revert to using these toxic drugs.

Hope this information was helpful to you........ again sorry to be a party pooper :-( Perhaps it's time for modification anyways??? :-)
Hopefully your new denture will work out terrific for you!!

Bryanna