Dental Implants Treatment Experience in Kerala, India

I’m Mahmood, and I live in the United Kingdom in the beautiful county known as the “Garden of England” Kent.

After months of research, I recently travelled to the South Indian State of Kerala for extensive dental treatment that would change my life forever.

I was humbled and amazed by my experience and thought I would share my journey with others who could also benefit from it.

I wanted to write my story in an open and honest no-flannel way in the hope that it will educate and inform all those who have ever contemplated dental surgery abroad. So here it is.

I arrived in at Cochin (Kochi) International in the early hours of 23rd March 2009. It had been a long flight and if had to do it again I guess the only thing I would change is perhaps get a direct flight rather than one that stopped over in Bahrain for about 45 minutes. Nevertheless, I had finally made it to “Gods Own Country” after 18 months of intensive research into the treatment, the surgeon, the procedure, his credentials, his qualifications, his clinic, his entire support team and every other possible question you could ever imagine all bar his inside leg measurement.

By the time I boarded the plane at London Heathrow I was already suffering from analysis paralysis and thought, I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I even had an exit strategy in place just in case. I thought if in any way shape or form I was not 100% convinced that I was going to get the very best treatment by the surgeon I would simply say thanks but no thanks and use my 12 days to travel and take in the beauty of this really vibrant country with its wondrous sights, smells and sounds. To be honest, I really needed a break anyway, so I thought what better way to combine a holiday along with getting my dental work done. Kill two birds with one stone right?

So, here I am at Kochi airport its hot and humid it’s like a heat wave in the middle of the night, imagine what it would be like during the day. Anyway, I was met by my taxi driver Abdul, really polite young chap who spoke very good English and within 35 minutes of leaving the airport Abdul got me safely to my hotel in the heart of Kochi City. All this had been pre-arranged before my arrival and it all seemed to get off like clockwork.

I had already emailed my dental surgeon a couple of days before I left London so I knew exactly what the plan was as soon as I landed. He had instructed me to get some rest on arriving at the hotel that Monday and that he would send an auto (tuk-tuk) to pick me up at 12 noon and the driver would then take me straight to get an updated x-ray done after which he would take me straight to the clinic and that’s exactly what happened.

So we get the x-ray and shoot straight off to the clinic. If you’ve never been in a tuk-tuk believe me you should try it it’s quite a thrill! Anyway we finally get to the clinic and meet the man who I had been speaking to frequently over the last 18 months. And what an absolutely charming guy he was too as we sat exchanging pleasantries and then listening very intently to the fate I was up against. Then I asked some questions and than a lot more after that. You know when you have this gut feeling about something that just feels right? Well this is exactly how my surgeon Dr. Thomas made me feel within a few moments of us meeting each other for the very first time that I decided to get straight down to the business at hand.

As the meeting ended Dr.Thomas asked if I had any more questions the first thing that came out of my mouth other than my teeth was “I hate pain” and the second thing was “will you be able to manage my pain” and on both accounts the doctor answered yes without hesitation and with an air of confidence which was very reassuring. So we got on with signing the consent forms and I was offered the day off to rest up before my first marathon session the following day (Tuesday at 9am). So I headed back to the hotel and decided to head out in the blistering mid-day sun, which on hindsight was a big mistake as that’s when the sun is at its fiercest. After a short walk downtown and after having sweated buckets loads I decided to make a b-line straight back to my air conditioned hotel room for a siesta at least till it got a little cooler.

Having enjoyed my last meal with the only remaining original teeth I had left, in the hotel’s multi-cuisine restaurant I decided to call it a night as I thought I needed to conserve some energy for the first day’s session back at the clinic the very next morning. I woke all rested got ready and waited for my auto driver to pick me up and take me to the clinic. On arrival Dr.Thomas greeted me and asked me straight into the surgery where he and his brilliant team made me comfortable before they set about my treatment. As promised, Dr.Thomas kept to his word and gave me a quick spray of something that contained an anaesthetic which immediately numbed the gum area he was going to work on and then came the injections one after the other. Now look, I have to be honest here, I’m the worse were it comes to injections I just can’t stand them unlike some folk who just take them in their stride, well not me! I shudder at the thought of having any kind of injection but then I stupidly try and brave it out which always proves totally futile. Anyway, so here I am on the couch with the mouth wide open and the treatment well underway. Here’s a quick overview to what I was going to have to have done. It was decided at the initial meeting that I needed 8 extractions, 15 Implants, 2 transitional implants, 2 bone grafts on the upper jaw plus two sinus lifts on the upper jaw too, can you imagine? I’m like Oh my God!

Maybe I’m a sadist or something, because I had researched this whole procedure so much and having even spent hours watching youtube videos about how it all happens that by the time I was in the couch I think I knew more than most patients of what was going on at every step as Dr.Thomas was carrying out his work. And just to confirm what I saw in those youtube videos was exactly what he did, I mean it was real text book stuff.

Ok, so back to couch, firstly he numbed one side of my lower gum and started to extract the teeth, then we moved to the other side of the lower jaw and the same again. Then came the cleaning up of the exposed jaw bone and surrounding area before drilling holes into the lower jawbone into which the titanium root implants would be inserted and tightened into to gain primary stability (if there is enough bone off course) if not, then Dr.Thomas will always inform you of exactly how he will achieve stability in areas where there is severe bone loss that would house the final implant. His expertise in such cases is unquestionable. The only reason why I know is that I had severe bone degeneration and I had to undergo the appropriate treatment to ensure that primary stability was going to be achieved in order to receive 7 implants as discussed initially.

Throughout the procedure, Dr Thomas was talking to me just to make sure that I was alright and that I wasn’t in any pain but more so to keep me informed as to exactly what was happening which really made me feel very comfortable. In fact, the whole thing was so incredibility painless would you believe me if I told you that I actually fell asleep for a moment whilst all this quite invasive surgery was being carried out? Well, I honestly did.

In just over 2 hours I was stitched up cleaned up sat up and duly informed that the entire work to the bottom jaw had been completed successfully without any complications. It was at this point that I thought back to the days I had wondered just how much pain I’m going to have to go through to be able to get back some of my lost confidence and to achieve that perfect smile just like my beautiful partner. For me just that thought was enough to get me through whatever pain I might have to undergo. However, having been under the knife, I couldn’t believe my luck at just how painless the whole procedure really was, of course there was the slightest pinch here or there but nothing more than that. In fact, I was either unbelievably brave or stupid, call it what you will, that when Dr.Thomas asked me if I wanted to rest out the next day I said no without hesitation. I guess it made sense as there had been no real pain so I thought let’s just get the whole thing out of the way so that I can give myself plenty of time to recover and go do some touristy things before heading back home. And that’s what I did.

The next day, Wednesday, I was driven back to the surgery and Dr.Thomas went through the whole procedure all over again. Numbing spray, injections, extractions, open and clean-up gumline, drill the required holes, insert titanium root implant, carry out two sinus lifts and 2 bone grafts as well as inserting two transitional implants that would fuse with the existing jawbone and become extra implant supports or act as support for the temporary denture that would be required for the next six months. At this point, I must be honest and tell you that this time I did feel a little pain the only thing is it wasn’t from the cutting drilling and hammering, yes hammering! on my jawbone to help disperse the bone as Dr.Thomas put it. The pain occurred when momentarily and unintentionally he pushed down slightly on my lower jaw to tighten the upper implant which was a tad uncomfortable as having kept my lower jaw for some time the previous day it just felt a little tender to say the least. However, that was the one and only time that I felt any slight pain throughout the second days treatment which to be fair I think was far more complex than the first days treatment.

Then came the first of many funny moments that I shared with Dr.Thomas throughout my stay he is by nature a really funny guy which obviously helps to cheer people up when they are feeling a little uncomfortable and worse for wear. As the second days work was about to finish I began to wonder if he had forgotten to carry out the sinus lift work. I mean I was following every step mentally if you recall saying to myself ok well this the drilling work that I saw on youtube and into this will go the root implant and then it will be screwed tight and then this is the stitches bit etc etc. Anyway, I was convinced that he hadn’t done the sinus lift work so as he was cleaning up I managed to mutter, are you sure you have finished? As I don’t think you have done the sinus lifts at which point he laughed out like a hyena and said it’s all done and everything is looking great all I can say is that it was a great relief to hear that as I was trying to stop myself from laughing also. By the way, just to let you know the second day’s treatment took around 2 hours and 50minutes to complete.

So, there you have it, a warts n all insight into the whole first phase of a procedure that would have taken far longer and cost me a fortune back home took from beginning to end done and dusted in a little less the 5 hours and all within 48 hours with the minimum of pain at the hands of this dental magician, sorry surgeon who’s expertise is incomparable to anyone in the UK. Now I have the next whole 9 days to relax and let my gums heal after which I will leave to go back home with a full set of temporary dentures that I will be required to wear for the next 6 months till I return for the final stage of treatment and receive my brand new implants and to be honest, I just can’t wait because I have been told that what I look like right now is only a quarter of what I will look like after the final implants have been fixed.

As you can imagine it did feel a bit weird at first to have no teeth in both jaws and my mouth felt a little sore for a few days but nothing more, but then again I guess it’s to be expected after so much trauma of course you’re bound to feel a little sore. Dr. Thomas even arranged, for one of his kind assistants to go to the nearest chemist to bring back some ibuprofen painkillers some antibiotics and some antiseptic mouthwash, which I was required to take over the next few days.

I guess your all wondering if I had to go through it all over again would I. The answer is, absolutely! In fact my only regret is that I wish I could have had this treatment some year back but let’s face it no one knew what dental tourism was all about back then did they? Well they do now! Remember that old saying, its better late than never! Well never a truer word spoken I’d say. If you have any concerns or worries or would simply like further information about incredibly affordable high quality dental treatment in beautiful Kerala, please feel free to get in touch at anytime. This is not a hard sell; it’s just a really affordable alternative that is now within everyone’s means.

Finally, as I mentioned at the start, this was going to be an honest no-flannel insight into my own personal experience and journey into the extensive dental treatment in Kerala. I needed to win back some lost confidence my self esteem and off course a smile that I had lost years ago. I only hope that you won’t have nightmares about the procedures I have outlined above as it was only meant to educate and inform you rather than to terrify and scare you. If by any chance you are still wondering if its worth going through all the hassle to gain back your quality of life, my advice is simple, just go do it and start enjoying your life today, after all, it’s the only one you have isn’t it?

SmileKerala.co.uk has been set-up as a direct result of my extensive research and my personal experience under the surgeon’s knife. In doing so, we have established a strong partnership with one of the most respected and highly qualified Consultant Oral and Maxillio Facial Surgeons-Implantologist in State of Kerala and a Fellow of the Royal College, Ireland Dr. Biju Thomas BDS, FFDRCS has also held a number of prestigious posts of Maxillio Facial Registrar at Cambridge University Hospital-UK, Trinity University Hospital-Dublin and Gloucester Royal Hospital-UK and together we bring you unrivalled high quality and affordable dental treatments in beautiful Kerala through our website smilekerala.co.uk where our commitment to you is to restore that million dollar smile. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best and hope that your whatever treatment you choose proves to be as successful as mine.

Mahmood
Smilekerala.co.uk

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