A dentist has warned of the dangers of travel Turkey for cosmetic dental work as many are lured by the cheap prices and all inclusive offers.
In what is being called the ‘Turkey Teeth’ trend, huge numbers of people across the UK have traveled to the country in search of affordable dental treatment, reports Belfast Live.
Marketing techniques see companies offer all-inclusive packages that often include flights, hotels and all expenses paid, as well as holidays.
But many professionals warn there is a dangerous side to the cosmetic phenomenon, including Dr Chris McAuley, a dentist at New Life Teeth in Belfast.
He says he has seen many cases of people returning from Turkey with significant problems.
“It’s not a good idea for many reasons,” said the dentist.
“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, need for root canals, need for tooth extraction and the risk is significant.
“Most people who go out there will do 20 or 24 teeth, so the chances of one of them going wrong are extremely high.
“This amount of drilling to achieve these end results is completely unnecessary.”
Dentists say they see patients who have gone to Turkey needing replacement “crowns” and “bridges.” Many practices will not entertain a patient for fear of legal action in the UK.
Dr Chris McAuley added: “The other common problems you see is that the work literally just falls out.
“The adhesives and cements that they use, for whatever reason, you’re going to see a lot of people coming back from Turkey with their real 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 litigation or being sued is so high.”
Dr Chris talked about the worst case he had seen of a patient who had gone to Turkey for a full set of veneers. They 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 then you’re talking about needing dentures.
“This is the worst scenario I’ve seen, certainly these kinds of people are extremely unlucky, but that’s how bad it can go.
“Apart from the price, I don’t see any benefit in going to Turkey. The savings you’ll make initially won’t last, because the lifetime maintenance and replacement costs of the work you’ll do will be far greater.
“Turkish clinics are very good at marketing and sell the dream as such.
“They tend to be quite strategic with their marketing and have a cheap price.
“Price is a factor for people and they feel like they’re getting a really good deal, they’re being shown that they’re going to be picked up in a fancy limo, they’re going to be put up 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. If you want to pay cheaply, then you’re opening yourself up to problems from that.”
Don’t miss out on the latest news from across Scotland and beyond – Subscribe to our daily newsletter here.
