The High Price of Cheap Dental Work: The Risks of Turkey Teeth

Thousands of people in Ireland and the U.K. have flown to Turkey for cut-price dental work and are left paying a high price for cheap dentistry.

The latest cosmetic trend for an oddly generic ‘perfect’ smile has enticed many into seeking cosmetic dentistry at drastically low prices offered by Turkish Clinics, lured in by seemingly safe protocols and promises of perfection.

The phenomenon has become so widespread that it’s acquired the name of Turkey Teeth.

The truth is that complex dental work requires time and care and must be carefully tailored to each case. As a result of overtreatment, shoehorned into a tiny window of time in a foreign country, many patients are left with ongoing troubles that Irish dentists are reluctant to treat.

Irish dentists have reported a huge surge in the number of remedial cases presenting with painful complications after choosing to have treatment in Turkey.

The main issue is that any changes to your dentition, whether it’s replacing missing or damaged teeth with dental implants or trying to get a mouthful of veneers for the perfect TV reality Show smile, should take many months to complete.

A quick online search reveals many newspaper articles citing serious cases of life-changing complications after dental work abroad. A BBC documentary examined the results of the fad, wondering if the supposed savings really outweigh the risks of potentially shoddy treatment, and found a slew of patients left with a variety of post-treatment problems, from chronic pain to sever infections.

In the U.K. some of the huge bills for remedial work in very serious cases is footed by the NHS, but here in Ireland it is extremely difficult to find a dentist willing to attempt treatment on any patient who has had work done abroad.

This is in part due to the insurance rules in this country, as any dentist attempting to remedy problematic work performed abroad becomes liable for the patient.

Understandably, this means many people desperately seeking help can’t access it; the clinic they attended in Turkey are frequently unhelpful and unavailable, and Irish dentists, though sympathetic, don’t want to get involved.

If you need complex dental work, you can avail of huge savings of up to 67% off national prices here in Ireland, with a detailed and transparent treatment plan designed to give you a gorgeous healthy smile.

You can pay as you go and have the peace of mind that you’re in safe hands at Smile Store, the Dental Specialists. See www.smilestore.ie or call 021 432 0004.