Turkey teeth

[Icanflyhigh]

I'm considering going to Turkey for new teeth.

I simply can't afford it here and after yet another upper back tooth crumbling last night, I need to do something.

Tell me your horror stories, give me your recommendations, desperate as I feel so flipping ugly.

How long would I need to be there? Are they English speaking?
Will I end up horrifically disfigured with glow in the dark teeth?!

So as not to drip feed, I do look after my teeth, this is related to roaccutane treatment as a teenager, and as I've got older, they've just crumbled.

Like you say she would need to be able to prove that she had a dry mouth and that this caused the decay. The OP doesn’t say how long she was on roaccutane for. The teeth decay would need to have been noted to have started at the same time/soon after she was on the medication. Because once you’re off the medication the saliva will return to normal. If she started getting decay 10 years later you would never be able to prove the medication caused the decay due to a dry mouth for 6 months 10 years previously. (Using 6 months as an example).

Ive lost most of my top teeth now due to gum disease and a total phobia of dentist ( anyone who has memories of dentists back in the 70's will understand )

I had my first partial plate in my 20's - front tooth

It WAS AWFUL. I think it took me a year before I could eat with it in, and I lisped for months

Now the partial plate is nearly a full plate - just a few molars left

I now have a lovely smile again

The only thing I cant eat is a whole fruit like an apple - have to cut them

I think because I started with just a one tooth denture I found it easier to adjust to over the years of it expanding . I know my BIL who had to have a lot of teeth removed at once and a denture struggled to get used to them

Dentures have come on a long way as well, much thinner , much better choice of colours so you can get a natural looking smile

Just dropping this here

He wasn’t no, it was just left to heal between each stage. I don’t think he particularly enjoyed having it all done but is pleased he has and said he would do it again if needs be. I hope you get sorted. It’s daunting isn’t it.

I’ve seen the turkey teeth offered at clinics/dentists in the UK (in this case meaning full composite bonding) and it really varies by the dentist. Some dentists do a decent job; although the brilliant white teeth do look ridiculous, it’s up to the pt to decide, and if that’s what they want 🤷‍♀️

I’ve seen composite bonding on teeth when the patient’s gums were in poor shape to begin with, which has led to nasty infections. The composite chips - so I’ve seen patients coming in weekly for repairs, sometimes back the same day. And some dentists just aren’t practiced enough, sadly. We had a young girl come in to have 16 teeth bonded. It took over five hours and it looked absolutely dreadful - unnatural, oddly shaped and lumpy. She was in tears and I don’t blame her. Some dentists have a knack for it, but they’re unusual, in my own experience. The dentist in that case was an excellent general dentist and root canals were a favourite - cosmetic dentistry made more money, but it really wasn’t her forte.

The implant dentist I currently work with is superb, and his patients adore him. But people need to do a lot of research before choosing to do cosmetic procedure.

I had my teeth done in Antalya Turkey, no complaints so far and happy with the service, it’s not as cheap as you would think though, mine cost 8K and that was for all crowns and 4 implants

Do your research, don’t go for the really suspiciously cheap clinics, there are groups on Facebook where you can ask for advice and read over past comments, ask loads of questions, the only negative thing about these groups is that there are moderators on the groups who are actually working on behalf of clinics so keep that in mind, otherwise these groups are excellent for getting info.

You don’t need to get brilliant white, they can do any shape and colour, they can also do variations of colour on the teeth eg. Slightly blue tips to give the illusion of translucency
People only notice the people who get the brilliant white ones, they don’t notice the people who have had good jobs done as they are undetectable

Poland is definitely an option as there are good dentists there as well, I personally went to Antalya in Turkey and am happy so far

I had all crowns and 4 implants done in turkey, I had to go twice, and then you get free yearly checkups if you wish, they are extremely efficient and have dental technology there that is far more advanced than most dentists have here, I definitely don’t regret it

There is currently a woman on TicTok who recently had implants ( she actually lives quite near to me). She had a maxillary sinus lift because she didn’t have sufficient bone for the implants. I suspect that they didn’t leave her to heal for long enough or she is a smoker/vaper. The implants ended up perforating her sinuses and she ended up with a huge infection which has caused necrosis and bone loss around her nose.

The infection has become chronic and the inside of her nose and nostrils are slowly disappearing. She can’t get anyone ( NHS or private ) to remove the implants because they are not happy to put her at further risk. So she has to wait until it heals, it’s likely to be months. Then she will need some serious cosmetic surgery involving rebuilding the bone and skin around her nose.

I feel very sorry for her but as a dentist who knows the local maxillo-facial surgeons professionally they are not fobbing her off. What should have been a straightforward implant case has turned into a complex case, one that you would expect with a head and neck tumour. She has posted her radiographs pre treatment and having looked at them with our implantogist at work ( we can be a bit geeky but it’s good to learn from other people’s mistakes) he was pretty damning about the lack of risk assessment and pre op planning evident.

Obviously not all implants fail , but you need to check any contract you sign to see what follow up care you will receive. The cost in this country factors in any remedial work, so if an implant fails it is covered for a period of time.

Aftercare usually involves an annual check up and regular hygiene appointments. The implant itself should last but the crowns/bridges they carry may need replacing in time. If the implant fails then depending on how many teeth they carry it can be catastrophic.

The questions you should ask are:

1. success rate
2. how long they cover the treatment for free repair- guarantee
3. what risks are involved both during and after treatment
4. do they cover travel costs if things go wrong
5. be prepared for hard sell with extras thrown in at a discount.

I am nearly retired and relieved that I am not going to be dealing with “Turkey teeth “ cases in the future. We get at least one query a week from patients who are experiencing problems. We also make it clear that we can’t fix problems and that patients need to return to the dentist who provided them. This is often because patients don’t understand that we can’t do remedial work on the NHS and we are not prepared to take on the risk of further complications. As soon as we attempt to remedy a case we become liable. We can provide emergency treatment for infection.

I suspect it will be the veneers and crowns that will become a major problem. Having seen the amount of tooth tissue they remove it’s likely that endodontists ( dentists who specialise in root canal treatment) are going to be very busy over the next ten years.

@Someone2025 Glad it went well. I am nearly done with one single implant with a UK dentist. There has been a lot of careful checking and appointments. All together it will be about 11 appointments over a 7 month period.

1. Remove the damaged tooth
2. Xray and scan to ensure where the jaw nerve is and check the site of the implant.
3. Check healing and ensure there is no infection
4. Remove stitches
5. Check healing and scan for bone density
6. Screw in steel post
7. Check gum healing and for any infection
8. Remove stiches
9. Scan to check the post as bonded properly with the bone and recheck for any infection.
10. Attach crown
11. Follow up appointment to show me how to care for it and do a final check for healing and infection, particularly to ensure the gum has healed tightly around the post and crown.

I had 22 crowns in Turkey and they did 13 root canal treatments on those teeth before they were crowned
I have a lifetime guarantee for the 4 implants that I got and a 10year guarantee for the crowns
I get free yearly checkups where the accommodation is paid for but not the flights, same if I were to have an issue, treatment and accommodation would be free but I would need to be pay for flights, I think I could probably claim those on my medical travel insurance though.

In Turkey there are some excellent dentists but also some bad ones ( probably the same in every country and profession) so you need to do your research, I was researching for around a year ( on and off obviously) before I actually confirmed with a clinic, I had contact with the clinic all throughout that year asking them various questions etc and didn’t make a decision until I was happy

I have to say that I don’t have them very long and haven’t had any problems, so hopefully it will continue that way, who knows but I’m glad I did it

My husband went to Budapest for implants. They have a regular practice in London where he was seen first and they referred him to their clinic in Budapest where they would do the work cheaper. We had to go there twice and they were so very kind and all staff spoke English. He's never had any trouble with his implants and his regular dentist here has no problems with them either.

I’m not sure why you’re telling me? I was describing what some patients choose.

I wouldn’t say it’s undetectable - but when done well it just looks nice.

In some cases, dentures are truly the best option.

If you are suffering bone damage from Roaccutane, your bones might not be strong enough for implants. But something to bear in mind - this might make you eligible for NHS treatment to deal with the issues.

its very very common for dentists in Turkey to do bone grafts, it’s done on a lot of patients who have implants

That’s not what she is saying though.

I think it extremely unlikely roaccutane caused your problems. Have you always had problems with your teeth “crumbling” or is this recent? There is no evidence this medication will damage your teeth, plus at the age you were taking this drug your teeth would have already formed. (I say this as a dentist and as someone who was prescribed roaccutane 4 times)
Dry mouth, hypoplasia, etc can all increase caries risk but it is overwhelmingly diet that is the cause of “crumbling” teeth.
I would advise against travelling to Turkey for dentistry. I see a fair few patients who have wall to wall crowns and end up with an abscess. The quality of the work varies, I guess much like in the UK, but I do have to say I’ve never seen anything as shockingly bad provided by UK dentists compared to these restorations. Massive ledges, linked restorations patients can’t clean, bite that looks completely unnatural!
Many places offer finance and it’s not only implants that can be used to fill gaps, dentures, especially chrome can be a good option.
Hope you get sorted OP.

I agree. This thread is like the Daily Mail - definitely got something against Turkiye. Go anywhere to the dentist, but not there. Honestly, there are bad British dentists too, as well as Polish, Latvian, Hungarian, Greek. It's just that the Daily Mail reporters seem to have a penchant for bashing the Turkish ones. 😡

Incorrect, they said that her bones might not be strong enough for implants, I was pointing out that that does not mean you have to rule implants out as bone grafts are a possibility and very common! !?! 🤷‍♀️

My hairdressers ex has turkey teeth, very white and look like piano keys.

My DP had them done (crowns) over 2 years ago. Did a lot of research into decent dentists over there. He’s very happy with them. They x rayed him to check what needed doing and he had root canals and an abscess removed as well as having the crowns.

He doesn’t have an NHS dentist, he had a private one who had done him no favours at all over the years and he desperately needed something doing as his teeth were badly worn.

i know of someone who went for implants and another mid way through the implant process who is due to go back for the final ones to be fitted.

Bone grafts need time to take and heal

And then you the patient needs to be scrupulous in oral hygiene moving forwards

If , how others have said, you won't find a dentist to work on work done abroad, would going as deep as bone grafts abroad be a good idea?

I myself have been told implants were impossible, even though willing to pay. Because my fear of dentist , my gagging relax which means I miss teeth when brushing ( yep I up chuck when brushing - daily ) As my dentist tells me, ill be throwing money away as I wouldn't be able to commit to the care implants need

Im not happy wear dentures, a lot less so as a younger woman, but for my fear of the dentist, my not being able to even fully brush - let alone floss - its the solution for me

@Icanflyhigh find a dentist you trust , who you can work with. Us on here can come up with the best and worst stories of dental treatment abroad. Bit only you and a decent dentist are the only ones who can decide what's best for you

how others have said, you won't find a dentist to work on work done abroad, would going as deep as bone grafts abroad be a good idea?

Bone grafts are very common procedure abroad and done extremely regularly by patients who require implants, the dental surgeons abroad are carrying them out all the time and have a lot of experience, It might be considered a big procedure over here but it isn’t there

I was considering implants in Turkey, but this has put me right off. It's for 3 lower molars, but honestly...I think I'll just get a retainer so my other teeth don't move and eat continue eating soft foods.

I'm already frightened of the dentist as it is, I cannot risk anything like this happening.

Thanks for sharing.