Frequently Asked Questions

The question people actually ask

"I lost that tooth in 2019. Is it too late now?"

We hear some version of this most weeks, at Kondapur and at Vizag. Usually the person has already read something online about bone melting away, and they arrive half convinced the answer is no.

For most people the answer is yes, an implant is still possible. Some need a graft first. Some need nothing extra at all. A scan tells us which, on the day you come in.

What the jaw does after a tooth leaves

Jawbone is built around roots. The bone that holds a tooth is there because the root loads it every time you chew. Take the root away and the body reads that patch as no longer in service, so it slowly reshapes it.

Research on extraction sites shows most of the change happens in the first six months. Studies put the ridge volume change in that spot somewhere in the range of 30 to 60 percent over the first year. After that it settles into a much slower drift.

This is normal biology, not something going wrong with you. It is also why the person who lost a tooth eight years ago and the person who lost one eight months ago can need different plans for a gap that looks identical from the outside.

How much bone an implant actually needs

An implant is a titanium post, usually somewhere between 8 and 13 mm long and 3.5 to 5 mm wide depending on the site. It needs bone around it in a few directions. Enough height so the post does not run into the sinus above or the nerve below. Enough width so there is solid bone on the cheek side and on the tongue side. And enough density that it holds still while it fuses, which takes a few months.

Those millimetres are why guesswork does not work here. A gap can look completely fine from the outside and be thin as a knife edge underneath. The opposite happens just as often, where someone has been told there is nothing to work with and the scan shows plenty.

How we find out, in one visit

We take a CBCT scan, which is a 3D X-ray of the jaw. It shows the bone in cross section at the exact spot where an implant would go, so we measure height and width in millimetres instead of estimating them. We also do an iTero 3D scan of the mouth itself. That one is radiation free and needs no putty moulds.

Between the two we can tell you on the same day which of the situations below applies to you. You leave with a written plan that says what is needed, in what order, and what it costs. Nothing has to be booked on the spot.

The four situations we usually see

1. Enough bone already

More common than people expect. This is often the case for lower back teeth, and for anyone whose tooth came out cleanly without a long infection sitting there beforehand. Nothing extra is needed. The implant goes in and the rest follows the standard timeline.

2. A small graft at the same appointment

The width is slightly short on one side. We place the implant and pack graft material around it in the same sitting to build that wall back up. No separate surgery, and usually no extra healing time beyond the normal fusing period.

3. A graft first, then the implant later

Used when a larger volume is missing. We build the site up, let it mature for roughly four to six months, then place the implant into the new bone. In the upper back jaw this often takes the form of a sinus lift, where the floor of the sinus is gently raised to make room for height.

4. A route that avoids grafting

Where bone in one area is genuinely limited, there are designs that use the bone you do have rather than adding more. All-on-4 for a full arch tilts the back implants to catch denser bone further forward. Shorter or narrower implants suit some single sites. Dr. Rajesh will tell you plainly when this is the better path and when it is not.

Does a graft actually work

Bone grafting has been standard practice in implant dentistry for decades and the published outcomes are good. Reviews of implants placed into grafted bone report survival in the high nineties across multi-year follow up, close to what implants in untouched bone achieve.

That is research across large groups of patients rather than a promise about any one mouth. Your own result depends on things like general health, gum condition, whether you smoke, and how the site is looked after once it is done.

The graft material itself is no mystery. It is usually processed mineral, either from a tissue bank, from a fully processed animal source, or synthetic. Sometimes we use a small amount of your own bone from nearby. Over the months your body replaces the scaffold with living bone of your own.

What it takes in time

Straight implant with no graft: post placed, then about three to four months of fusing, then the crown goes on. Small simultaneous graft: much the same timeline. Separate graft first: add roughly four to six months before the implant goes in, which puts the whole thing closer to nine or ten months end to end.

Long, yes. But nearly all of that is waiting, not appointments. You are in the chair for a handful of visits across the entire treatment, and if the gap shows when you smile you have a temporary tooth in place throughout.

If you are flying in

Patients come to us from the US, the UK, Australia and the Middle East, and a graft changes how the trip gets planned. The usual shape is two visits. First trip for the scan, any extraction, and the graft. Second trip, months later, for the implant and the crown.

Send us a recent OPG or CBCT on WhatsApp before you book flights. We will tell you which pattern fits your case so you are not planning a holiday around a guess.

Kondapur and Vizag

Both branches handle implant work and both have the scanning to assess bone properly. Kondapur is on Masjid Banda Road, behind Coffee Day. Vizag is on KGH Down Road, opposite the Collector Office.

Dr. Rajesh Kumar Y leads the implant and grafting side. He is a Fellow of Implantology from Germany and has been in practice since 1993. The clinic has been running since 1997.

What to bring

Any old X-rays you have, even phone photos of them. A list of medicines you take, particularly anything for diabetes, blood pressure, blood thinning or bone density. And a rough idea of when the tooth came out, because it helps us read the scan.

If someone has already told you there is not enough bone, bring that report too. A second look costs you one appointment and quite often changes the answer.

Talk to us

Book a consult at either branch on WhatsApp. We will measure the bone properly and tell you plainly where you stand. Message us here.