NHS dentists pick up tab for problems with ‘Turkey teeth’
MORE than half of UK dentists have treated patients with problems linked to cheap cosmetic surgery abroad, a survey has found.
The trend sees teeth filed down to fangs or stubs and replaced with crowns or veneers.
Dental tourism to Turkey has rocketed, made popular by celebrities including former glamour model Katie Price.
It has also been seen on ITV reality hit Love Island, with the hashtag #Turkeyteeth gaining more than 130 million views on TikTok.
But dental experts have called the situation a ‘disaster zone’ as patients can end up with much higher risks of having to have root canal treatments, extractions and dentures.
Out of 1,000 dentists surveyed by the British Dental Association, 597 said they had seen patients who suffered problems after visiting Turkey for treatment.
More than 40 per cent said remedial treatment was provided by the NHS and more than 20 per cent said the repair costs were above £5,000.
Patient Lisa Martyn, 48, said she paid £3,000 to a clinic in Turkey for 26 veneers but ended up being given crowns, where 60 to 70 per cent of the tooth is filed down.
She added that she was left in excruciating pain after developing an infection and abscess which nearly paralysed half her face.
The only long-term treatment available for her now is implants or dentures. She told BBC News Channel
documentary Turkey Teeth: Bargain Smiles or Big Mistake?: ‘Financially it’s going to cripple me, but that’s just the price I have to pay after going to Turkey and filing all my teeth down.’
Love Island winner Jack Fincham, 31, who travelled to Turkey for ten crowns before going on the reality show in 2018, said he had not realised ‘it was quite as invasive as it was’.
He added: ‘My mum used to be a dental nurse so I know how expensive it is to get your teeth done. I knew it would be about £10,000 to
‘Fuelled by reality TV’
£15,000 easily in England. So I thought I’d rather just go to Turkey get a bit of sun, have a laugh.’
Dentist Paul Woodhouse, of Stockton-on-Tees, said: ‘I’m seeing one of these cases every other month. It’s a disaster zone. I had one patient in recently who had ten of their front teeth joined together.’
British Dental Association chairman Eddie Crouch said patients should be ‘wary of a hard sell as the reality is rarely as simple as it appears on Instagram’. He added: ‘Sadly many UK dentists are now picking up the pieces when things go wrong.’