About "Turkey Teeth"
Dr Nikhil Sharma sets out what is done to the teeth, the complications that often come afterwards, what it genuinely costs and the questions worth asking before booking a flight.
Should I Fly to Turkey for Veneers or Crowns Rather Than Having Them Done in Broughty Ferry?
The advert price looks attractive, but a great many "Turkey teeth" smiles are actually complete sets of crowns rather than veneers, and crowns mean grinding healthy teeth down to pegs that will need covering for the rest of your life. That price also rarely accounts for flights, a second trip, or a dentist near home willing to maintain someone else's work. At our Broughty Ferry practice, porcelain veneers start from £695 per tooth, and a less aggressive plan frequently achieves a natural-looking result while keeping far more of your own tooth.
How the Phrase Caught On
The phrase "Turkey teeth" grew up on social media as a label for an ultra-white, perfectly uniform smile produced in a matter of days at a clinic abroad. Most people associate it with Turkey, although identical packages are offered elsewhere. And plenty of customers are genuinely happy with how their new teeth photograph.
The worry isn't really the country; it's the technique. To achieve that flawless, even look in such a short time, many clinics crown an entire arch, twenty teeth or more at times, on teeth that were perfectly healthy. Concern about patients coming home with complications has been voiced by the British Dental Association, and UK dentists now routinely find themselves putting that work right.
Crowns and Veneers Are Different Things
People use the two terms interchangeably, but they describe quite different treatments, and that distinction matters more than anything else you'll read here.
| Feature | Veneer | Crown |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Only the visible front surface | The whole tooth, every surface |
| Enamel lost | None or very little for composite; a thin layer for porcelain | A great deal, frequently down to a slim peg |
| Reversible? | Composite generally yes; porcelain no | No |
| Nerve risk | Low | Greater, from the depth and heat of the drilling |
| When it fails | Usually repairable, or replaced | Replaced, with a little more tooth lost each time |
Those widely shared images of teeth ground into tiny stubs are what lies beneath a full set of crowns. A healthy tooth reduced to that extent is committed to wearing a crown for life.
Been Quoted Abroad, or Come Back with a Problem?
Bring it along. We'll go through it together and tell you honestly what we think.
The Problems That Follow
- Sensitivity and dying nerves. Aggressive drilling of sound teeth can inflame the pulp. Months or even years on, some of those teeth end up needing root canal treatment.
- Inflamed, bleeding gums. Crowns with bulky edges at the gum line harbour plaque and keep the gums permanently irritated.
- A bite that's off. Replacing every tooth in one go, at speed, can leave an aching jaw, chipped edges or crowns that feel too high.
- A shade that's too bright. A colour chosen with beach photos in mind can look harsh in an office a year later, and it cannot be toned down.
- Decay beneath the crown. Margins that don't seal properly let decay creep in underneath, where nobody can see it.
None of this is inevitable. When it does occur, though, it tends to be once you're back home.
Adding Up What the Trip Really Costs
An overseas quote and one from Broughty Ferry rarely describe the same treatment, so be honest when comparing them. On top of the foreign figure, you need to include:
- Flights there and back plus accommodation, often for a week or longer
- A further trip if the clinic insists on one, and the days off work it involves
- An X-ray and examination at home beforehand, if the clinic is planning from photographs
- Treatment at home for any problems, which a UK dentist will charge for since they didn't carry out the original work
- In time, replacement crowns, each taking away a little more tooth
With us, porcelain veneers start from £695 per tooth and composite veneers are £395 per tooth, including the design, trial smile and review. 1 The Broughty Ferry veneers cost guide sets out full totals.
Seven Questions for Any Clinic
- Are these veneers or crowns, and which teeth are involved?
- How much tooth will be removed from each one, and what's the reason for that amount?
- Who is the clinician, and with which body are they registered?
- Which material will be used, and which laboratory will make it?
- Is there a mock-up I can see before any drilling starts?
- How will the bite be checked once every tooth has been done?
- If a crown fractures, or a tooth starts hurting once I'm back home, what's the process and who covers the cost?
A conscientious clinic, in any country, will give you those answers in writing. If the response is mostly about price, draw your own conclusions.
The Less Drastic Route to the Same Look
What most people asking for "Turkey teeth" actually want is a whiter, straighter, more even smile, and that can usually be achieved with a fraction of the drilling. A typical plan might be aligners to straighten crowded teeth, home whitening, and then composite bonding or a small number of porcelain veneers only where they add something. Before any of that starts, you'd see the planned outcome sitting on your own teeth, as a trial smile.
The outcome is less uniform than a full arch of crowns, which is partly the appeal: the smile is still recognisably yours. It also leaves your options open. Composite can be polished up or upgraded later. A tooth that's been reduced for a crown can never go back.
If the Work Has Already Been Done
You'll get a welcome here and no lecture. Bring whatever paperwork you were given, any X-rays, and before photos should you have them. Your dentist will go over the teeth and gums, X-ray them to assess the nerves and how well the margins fit, and tell you straightforwardly what's sound, what needs watching and what needs treating.
The news is reassuring more often than not. Sometimes a single crown has to be redone, or a gum problem needs treating. Now and again a bigger plan is needed, and we'd explain it in full with written fees before you commit to anything. How the visit works is described on the second opinion page.
Implants Abroad Are a Separate Question
Cosmetic crowns and veneers are the subject of this guide. Implants done overseas, the full-arch "teeth in a week" packages among them, involve a different set of risks: healing time, the implant system chosen, and who maintains them long term. Our guide comparing implants abroad versus treatment in Scotland covers those.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.