Thanks to the dedicated work of Dr. Biju Thomas and his experienced and specialized team, I now have upper implants placed and loaded – all during 2010, to complement my already placed Belgian lower jaw implants.

I am now enjoying a normal dental life (eating, speaking, singing and sleeping) for the first time in more than 5 years.

With the plan provided to me in Belgium I would have been still waiting until 2012.

If you live in Benelux, Northern France or close by in Germany and would like to ask further general questions in English then feel free to contact me via Dr. Thomas.

All teeth in my lower jaw teeth had already been replaced by implants in Belgium: then following the necessary upper jaw extractions, I was waiting for the bone to consolidate before the next steps.

Because of suspected poor bone quality, it had been decided that I must go through an operation to have my own bone removed from either my cranium (skull bone) or head of femur (thigh bone) and then await a further period for this to “take” before even placing the upper jaw implants. A further waiting period before loading with the prosthesis would have meant about a total of 2 years from February 2010 before the upper jaw could be completed.

Apart from the high costs in Belgium, I was not at all happy with this bone-taking phase. I was pleased,therefore, to hear of the activities of Dr. Biju Thomas in Kerala, India. Dr.Thomas informed me immediately of the option to use artificial bone grafting. Knowing the origin was bovine, I needed reassurance that there was no risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy – for which Dr. Thomas provided convincing evidence.

The Indian plan compared to the Belgian plan above was one trip to India in February 2010 and one trip in November 2010 for planned completion of the job.

Financially, the total cost for the Indian option, including all flights and accommodation was a fraction of what it would have cost in Belgium for my upper jaw implants to be placed and loaded with a prosthesis.

The decision to go to India for treatment is however not a “quick-fix” solution. Having dental implants is a stage-process and if you are considering this option it is important to have realistic expectations of what it takes before you commit to go to India. One should be prepared to face the long flights, local bumpy transport in India when your mouth is feeling sensitive, fairly long periods walking about and eating without any teeth at all. It helps during this if you enjoy Asian food, as many delicious options are easily available other than soup and yoghourts.

From my point of view here are the advantages of making the 2 visits to Kerala:

• The implants-only specialization and dedication of Dr. Thomas and his team in his clinic results in an experience that you would have to search hard to find anywhere else in the world outside a large specialized hospital. This is built upon his maxillofacial surgical qualifications solidly earned in Ireland and UK.
• The guarantee that all surgical and technical procedures will be 100% personally supervised by Dr. Thomas.
• Technical and laboratory work is also carried out locally – meaning less delays and more tailored care in preparing the modeling impressions and prostheses.
• The patience and kindness shown by Dr. Thomas and his experienced team. Consideration is shown for all physical and psychological discomfort in the process. Thorough explanations are given for each step.
• Dr. Thomas’ confidence and belief in the natural healing power of the human body is the daily dynamic which makes him and his team such excellent operators.
• The use of a greater quantity of shorter implants has distinct advantages which can be explained to you by Dr. Thomas.
• Availability of branded implants means world-wide tools compatibility which is important for international patients. As backup in any emergency is the availability of making a shorter trip to Dubai to Dr. Thomas’ clinic there or by a referral to one of his hand-picked colleagues in Europe.
• The advanced knowledge of Dr. Thomas in techniques such as artificial bone-grafting and sinus-lifting which were not even offered or discussed as an option in Belgium.
• If you have booked 7 to 10 days extra time before your return flight on each trip (a wise contingency), then you can enjoy the relaxing delights of Kerala for a few days!

I am delighted to report that so far everything worked out well for me in practice. I now have upper and lower implants placed and loaded and I am enjoying a normal dental life (eating, speaking, singing and sleeping) for the first time in more than 5 years.

Geoff Owen,

Englishman residing in Belgium

By Geoff Owen (Belgium)
From Belgium