Cheap cosmetic treatments abroad – such as tooth repair – are becoming increasingly popular. More and more people are taking trips abroad to avoid high costs here in the UK.
But a dentist has issued a stark warning to anyone traveling to Turkey for dental treatment – it could lead to serious long-term problems. Turkey Teeth packages often include flights, hotels and all-expense paid options that attract people looking for vacation deals as well as their dental treatment.
Dr Chris McAuley, a dentist at private Belfast dental practice New Life Teeth, says he has seen many cases of people returning from Turkey with significant problems.
“It’s not a good idea for a number of reasons,” he told Belfast Live.
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“It’s worth saying that not all Turkish dentists are bad, but the ones that seem to be marketing and have their clientele from the UK and Ireland seem to be overly pushy and in many cases the quality of work is poor.”
“These are not the best dentists in Turkey, the way of treatment and the styles they use are very aggressive.
“By piercing the tooth that much, you put yourself at a very high risk of nerve death in the tooth due to the trauma of the piercing. This can lead to pain, infection, the need for root canals, the need for teeth to come out, and risk that is substantial .
“Most people who go out there are going to do 20 or 24 teeth, so the chances of one of them going wrong are extremely high. That amount of drilling to achieve these end results is completely unnecessary.”
Other issues that dentists often see from those who have done dental work in Turkey are ‘crowns’ and ‘bridges’ that need replacing – while many dentists here won’t entertain a patient for fear of legal action.
“The other common problems you see is that the work literally falls out. The adhesives and cements that they use, for whatever reason, you’ll see a lot of people coming back from Turkey with their actual crowns and bridges falling out and needing to be replaced.
“If you have problems with your treatment, you’re a thousand miles away in the UK or Ireland and dentists here are very reluctant to undertake that because the risk of a lawsuit or being sued is so high.”
Dr. Chris says the worst case scenario he has encountered is when patients head to Turkey for a full set of veneers, which eventually become infected and lead to the person needing dentures.
He says: “The worst case scenario is that the infections have destroyed the bone underneath so badly that even implants can’t go in and you’re talking about needing dentures then. That’s the worst case scenario I’ve seen, certainly these kind of people are extremely unlucky , but that’s how bad it can get.
“Besides the price, I don’t see any benefit to going to Turkey. The savings you’ll make initially don’t even hold up because the lifetime maintenance and replacement costs of the work you’ll do will be so much higher.
“Turkish clinics are very good at marketing and sell the dream as such. They tend to be quite strategic with their marketing and are cheaply priced.
“Price is a factor for people and they feel like they’re getting a really good deal, they’re being shown they’re going to be picked up in a fancy limo, put in a fancy hotel, all expenses paid. There’s a reason it’s cheaper. The work we see coming back from these places, the quality is really not very good.
