Travelling to Turkey For Dental Treatment? Do Your Research First
Turkey teeth are back in the news, and it’s not good news.
You may remember this newly coined phrase from last year, used to describe the teeth of patients travelling to Turkey for cut-price dental treatment.
It’s now back in the news, and once again, for all the wrong reasons. However, there are some advantages to travelling to Turkey for dental treatment, as long as you’re meticulous when you do your research.
Why travelling to Turkey for dental treatment can be considered dangerous
Here in the UK, patients are protected by strict guidelines set by the GDC, and with good reason. These guidelines require dentists to meet specific sterilisation and hygiene standards and biocompatible materials of quality for dental treatment.
The same cannot be said of countries such as Turkey, where guidelines are lax. This said, there are plenty of dentists in Turkey who do operate ethically and do care about your welfare.
What to consider before jetting off to Turkey for dental treatment
Some considerations to make before you head to Turkey for dental treatment include:
Looking up the dentists working at a given establishment. What is their background? Where did they train?
Looking at patient reviews and before and after photos.
Looking at their hygiene policy online - do they have one?
Whether there will be language barriers between you and the dentist.
How travelling to Turkey for dental treatment can have diabolical effects on your teeth
Language barriers during the consultation stage
Communication is everything when a dentist is ascertaining how to responsibly and effectively treat a patient and meet their needs.
Unfortunately, many patients have come back from Turkey having said that the communication hindered this process, and felt too much pressure to ask for a translator. You should never consent to a procedure you don’t fully understand, and any dentist worth their salt will never go ahead with a procedure if they aren’t 100% certain that the patient comprehends the ins and outs.
Tip: find out if there is a translator who can clearly convey clinical information to you. If this isn’t the case and you’re unsure what you’re consenting to, don’t give the green light until you do.
Your teeth may deteriorating after treatment
Many dentists in Turkey use destructive processes to fit crowns and veneers.
These can involve shaving down healthy natural tooth structure into tiny stump-like shapes. This will significantly weaken your tooth and leave it more vulnerable to decay and sensitivity.
In the UK, dentists will only remove natural tooth structure if it is absolutely clinically necessary to do so, and certainly not for the sake of aesthetics.
What’s more, the crowns and veneers used in Turkey can often be milled from low-quality materials that won’t actually look aesthetic or natural at all!
Tip: ask them how much of your natural tooth structure they will remove prior to treatment. If they tell you it is a significant portion, and you don’t have cavities or decay that you know of that would justify this, do not proceed.
Dentists in the UK may not be able to treat you if something goes wrong
A misconception that we often come across here at Nova Smiles, is that patients think they are guaranteed to receive treatment from a dentist in the UK, should something go wrong with their treatment in Turkey. In many cases, this isn’t possible due to:
Lack of insurance.
The complexity of the botched treatment.
Not only does this make matters even more traumatic, it means you’ll be even more out of pocket, as you will need to return abroad to receive further treatment.
Getting it right the first time by choosing dental treatment in highly regulated countries such as the UK is the best thing you can do to take care of yourself.
Tip: make sure you get insurance that covers you to have any necessary re-treatment in the UK.
Ask a dentist about Turkey Teeth
If you’re contemplating heading to Turkey to get your teeth done this year, we strongly advise you to speak to a dentist in the UK about the risks first.
Our dentists are only one click away to respond to your concerns and questions, and it’s completely free of charge to get in touch.
