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- Sevil Kaderli
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Many medical tourists come to Turkey for its high-quality dental treatments. While the reasons for seeking medical help abroad vary, most do so to get treatments that are either unavailable in their country or are too expensive.
Some patients are quite surprised when they learn how well-developed Turkish dentistry is. Any dental procedures that one can get in the UK can also be performed in Turkey with the same high quality but for a much lower cost.
Table of Contents
TREATMENT OVERVIEW
PRICE
TIMESCALE
ANESTHESIA
GUARANTEE
Popular Dental Treatments to Get in Turkey
Dental clinics in Turkey offer many types of dental treatments. They use some of the best medical equipment available, so most of the latest procedures can be performed at least somewhere in Turkey. Nevertheless, most medical patients come to Turkey to get cosmetic treatments. Because most of these procedures are voluntary and non-essential to the patient’s health and well-being, they are not covered by insurance. Clinics in Turkey are considerably less expensive than in the West, so it is not surprising that some patients decide to fly here to get their desired surgeries.
Turkish clinics try to make travelling to them easier by including accommodation and other services when the patient purchases a treatment. And depending on the surgery type, a patient saves up to three-quarters of the cost of the same procedure in their country.
In Turkey, tooth prostheses installation is the most popular cosmetic treatment. Usually, this includes dental veneers or crowns, though implants are also very popular, as they are cheaper to install here than in the West, even with insurance.
Patients choose to install dental veneers to treat tooth discolouration and change its shape. A veneer is attached to the front of the tooth, covering it so that the other parts of the tooth are not visible from the front or the sides. Dental veneers are very thin, so they don’t have a functional value except to cover the gaps between teeth. But they are useful to cover up small defects in tooth shape and structure.
Dental veneers come in composite and porcelain varieties. Composite veneers are made of resin and can be installed without specially preparing the tooth. As a result, they are a perfect choice as a temporary cover for a defect before getting another type of veneer or other tooth prostheses. They are also the least expensive type of veneer. Composite veneers are less suitable for changing tooth colour as they are very prone to staining from food. The staining can be removed, but this requires a visit to the dentist.
Composite veneers are also the quickest to install. While porcelain veneers must be manufactured specifically to fit the patient’s teeth, composite resin can be shaped during installation, removing the need to wait until your veneers are produced.
Porcelain veneers are more expensive but look more natural and are more resistant to damage. As porcelain is rigid after firing at the lab, they need to be made to order using the patient’s tooth scan, so their installation takes multiple appointments. Porcelain also needs to be thicker than resin to have enough structural integrity, so the dentist must prepare the tooth by filling some enamel from the front, or else the veneer will protrude. As a result, porcelain veneers are installed permanently, and the patient can only remove them if they want to replace them. There are many types of porcelains used for these veneers. They are all different in appearance and physical properties, but as a rule of thumb, the more natural-looking materials are also more fragile. Some porcelain veneers are called lumineers, which are much thinner than the regular kind.
Dental crowns fully cover the teeth, replacing all their visible parts. They must be much more durable than veneers, as they must be able to stand up to daily mechanical stresses. For this reason, most crowns have a metal core that is covered with dental porcelain. Metal gives the crown its strength and rigidity, while porcelain mimics the appearance of a natural tooth.
Every dental crown is made specifically for the patient, as it needs to fit in with the patient’s existing dentition and jaw shape. Though rare, there are also crowns fully made of metal or ceramic. Dental crowns can be attached to both natural roots or implants. In the latter case, the crown-implant combination fully replaces the patient’s tooth. The crown installation procedure can have prerequisites. For example, patients may need to treat their root canals before installing a crown.
A dental implant is a screw inserted in place of a missing or very damaged tooth root. The screw fuses with the jawbone, forming a strong connection. As such, this is the only tooth replacement that allows the patient to use their full bite force. The installed implants do not move or sway. Unlike dentures, the patient doesn’t need to learn to use them.
Dental implants are not usable by themselves, as they only replace the tooth’s root. Depending on how many teeth the patient has lost or damaged, they are used for attaching dental crowns or bridges.
Implants can be metallic or porcelain. Metallic screws are more durable and cheaper. They come in many shapes and can be used in most situations. A small per cent of patients has allergic reactions to some metals, so the material for a metallic screw needs to be selected with possible adverse reactions in mind. The metals used for screws are not reactive otherwise. The only other consideration a patient may have is aesthetics. Most metallic alloys are grey, and patients who get a gum condition that causes them to recede, such as periodontal disease, can end up with visible grey lines under their crowns where the screw shows through.
Such patients may want to get a porcelain implant. Porcelain screws are white, so they don’t look out of place even if they become visible. Furthermore, there are no known allergic reactions to porcelains used for screws. Unfortunately, the material properties of porcelain make it impossible to make screws of some shapes and sizes. They are also more expensive than metal.
Veneers spesifications | Substance | Light permeability and Naturalness | Life time | Computer design | Hand made | Base | Added porcelain | Without porcelain or anatomical | DENTATUR PRICE | UK PRICE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zirconia based porcelain veneer | ✓✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✗ | Zirconia | ✓ | ✓ | 160₤ | 550₤ |
E max laminate veneer | ✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓ | ✗ | E-max | ✓ | ✓ | 200₤ | 750₤ |
Empress laminate veneer | ✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Empress | ✓ | ✗ | 200₤ | 750₤ |
Lumineers | ✓✓ | ✓✓✓ | ✓✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Porcelain | ✓ | ✓ | 275₤ | 950₤ |
Why Getting Your Teeth Done in Turkey So Cheap?
Turkey’s healthcare attracts enough medical tourists to be one of the important revenue streams for the country. As such, Turkey’s government has many initiatives to keep the price and quality competitive. But even without these initiatives, the cost of dental treatments in Turkey would’ve been lower than in the West.
Turkey has lower living costs than most other developed countries. This means that, for example, it doesn’t cost as much to get an education, so the doctors don’t need to charge more to compensate. Furthermore, as the citizens of Turkey earn comparatively less than in the West, the prices also need to be lower, or else they will be unaffordable for the locals.
Low cost does not mean the quality of Turkish dental treatments is low. Turkey’s government subsidises purchases of quality dental materials and equipment, while Turkish dental schools are among the most renowned in the world. As a result, doctors in Turkey are very experienced and can use some of the most advanced dental care methods.
Cost of Getting Teeth Done in Turkey
At Dentatur, most procedures cost 50% to 70% less than equivalents in the UK. Our prices also include the following additional services:
- Accommodation;
- In-country transportation;
- Anaesthesia and post-surgery medications;
- Hospital stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should You Pay Attention To While Selecting Dentists in Turkey?
When selecting a dentist in Turkey, you should pay attention to their reputation. For example, many clinics and dentists are already reviewed by other patients. Their reviews can be found online. You should also check the clinic’s and dentist’s licences and other documents that confirm their experience and professional status.
Some clinics and dentists also have licences that allow them to be graded by external committees. A good example of such a rating system is GCR or Global Clinic Rating.
UK vs Turkey: Dental Treatments Comparison
Turkey’s dentistry is sufficiently advanced to offer alternatives to any UK procedure. The clinics here can offer the same or better quality for less. Treatment of the same quality performed by a doctor with similar experience will cost 50% less in Turkey than in the UK, on average.
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