Dentist's warning over 'Turkey Teeth' after patients veneers become infected

A dentist has warned of the dangers of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic dental work as many are lured by the cheap prices and all inclusive deals.

In what is dubbed as the 'Turkey Teeth' trend, a huge number of people across the UK have been travelling to the country in search of affordable dental treatments, reports Belfast Live.

Marketing techniques see companies offering all-inclusive packages which often include flights, hotels and all expenses paid, as well as a holiday.

But many professionals are warning there is a dangerous side to cosmetic phenomenon, including Dr Chris McAuley, a dentist at New Life Teeth in Belfast.

He says he has seen numerous cases of people returning from Turkey with significant issues.

“It’s not a good idea for a large number of reasons,” the dentist said.

“It’s worth stating that not all Turkish dentists are bad, but the ones that seem to be marketing and get their clientele from the UK and Ireland seem to be overly aggressive and in many instances the quality of the work is poor.

“These aren’t the best dentists in Turkey, the treatment mode and styles that they use are very aggressive.

“By drilling the tooth down so much, you put yourself at a very high risk of nerve death in the tooth due to the trauma of the drilling. This can result in pain, infection, needing root canals, needing teeth out and the risk of that is substantial.

“Most people going out there are going to get 20 or 24 teeth done, so the chances of one of those going wrong is extremely high.

“This amount of drilling to achieve these final results is completely unnecessary.”

Dentists say they are seeing patients who have been to Turkey needing ‘crowns’ and ‘bridges’ replaced. Many practices won’t entertain a patient for fear of legal action in the UK.

Dr Chris McAuley added: “The other common problems that you see is the work literally just falling out.

“The glues 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 replaced.

“If you have any issues with your treatment, you are a thousand miles away in the UK or Ireland and dentists here are very reluctant to take that kind of thing on, because the risk of litigation or being sued is so high.”

Dr Chris spoke of the worst case he had seen for a patient who had been to Turkey for a full set of veneers. They become infected and lead to the person needing dentures.

He says: “Worst case scenario is that the infections have destroyed the bone underneath so badly that not even implants can be put in and you’re talking about needing dentures then.

“That is the worst case scenario that I’ve seen, certainly those kind of people are extremely unlucky but that is how bad it can go.

“Other than price, I don’t see any benefits at all to going to Turkey. The savings that you will make initially don’t even hold up because the lifelong costs of upkeep and replacing the work that you get done are going to be far greater.

“Turkish clinics are very good at marketing and they sell the dream as such.

“They tend to be quite strategic with their marketing and come at a cheap price.

“Price is a factor for people and they feel like they are getting a really good deal, they show them that they are going to pick them up in a fancy limo, put them up in a fancy hotel, all expenses paid.

“There is a reason that it’s cheaper. The work that we are seeing come back from these places, the quality is really not very good. If you want to pay cheap then you’re opening yourself up to problems from that.”

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