"Turkey Teeth"
A straight comparison of veneers, crowns and implants abroad against treatment at home, what can go wrong, and the questions to ask any clinic before you fly.
Should I Get My Teeth or Dental Implants Done in Turkey, or in Glasgow?
"Turkey teeth" usually describes full sets of crowns or veneers done abroad, often involving heavy filing of healthy teeth, and the same clinics now sell full-arch implants in a week. The headline price is lower. What it tends to leave out is a healing timetable, a guarantee you can use from Glasgow, and someone to see when something goes wrong. The British Dental Association has raised concerns about patients returning with complications. If you're considering it, ask exactly what will be done, how much tooth will be removed, how long the implants are left to heal, and who looks after you afterwards. We're happy to give a second opinion on any plan.
What "Turkey Teeth" Means
It's a popular term for a very white, very uniform smile made with a full set of crowns or veneers, often done in a short trip abroad. Turkey is the best-known destination, but the same model runs in several countries. Many people are happy with their results. The problems tend to come from how much healthy tooth is removed to get the look, and from what happens once you're home.
Crowns and Veneers Aren't the Same
| Feature | Veneer | Crown |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The front of the tooth | The whole tooth |
| Tooth removed | Little or none | A lot, all the way round |
| Reversible? | Sometimes, if no enamel was removed | No |
| Nerve at risk? | Rarely | More often, because of the amount removed |
A lot of treatment marketed as veneers is actually crowns, which need far more of the natural tooth filed away. Once that's done it can't be undone: the tooth will need a crown for the rest of its life, and every replacement is another cycle of work. The photos of filed-down pegs that circulate online are what crowns on healthy teeth look like underneath.
Want a Second Opinion?
Bring your treatment plan, or your results, and we'll talk you through it honestly. Consultations are free.
Dental Implants Abroad
The same clinics increasingly advertise full sets of implants, including "All-on-4 in a week". The price can be a third of a UK fee. Here's what the week usually contains, and what it leaves out.
- Compressed timing. Extractions, implants and sometimes the final bridge within days. In the UK the implants are left for around three months to bond with the bone before the final bridge, because loading them too early is the commonest reason they fail.
- No healing checks. Once you fly home there's nobody to see the gums and bite at one week, one month and three months, which is where small problems are caught.
- A guarantee you can't use. Any warranty means returning to the clinic. A failed implant six months later is a flight, a hotel and time off work, or a Glasgow practice starting from scratch.
- Unknown parts. A UK implant dentist needs to know the exact implant system to fit a new crown or bridge to it. If the brand isn't on your paperwork, repairs get harder and dearer.
Implants can and do succeed abroad. The risk isn't the country, it's the timetable and the missing aftercare.
What the Risks Are
The British Dental Association has raised concerns about patients returning with complications. For crowns and veneers these include sensitivity, nerve damage needing root canal treatment, gum inflammation around over-bulky margins, and bites that don't fit together comfortably. For implants they include infection, implants that never bond with the bone, and bridges fitted before the implants were ready.
Fixing any of it at home is usually more complex and more expensive than the original treatment, and it has to be done by someone who didn't do the work and often can't tell exactly what was done.
How the Prices Really Compare
A Glasgow quote and a Turkish quote rarely cover the same thing. Before you compare, add up:
- Flights and accommodation for the first trip, and for any return trip the guarantee needs
- Time off work for the trip, and for any repairs
- A CT scan and consultation at home if the clinic plans from photographs
- Aftercare at home, which the UK practice will charge for because it didn't do the work
- The cost of a replacement if something fails, which the guarantee won't cover from Glasgow
At St Vincent Smile a single implant with its crown is from £2,775, and a fixed full arch from £9,300 with the CT scan included, both with a 5-year guarantee for non-smokers who attend hygiene visits every 3 months you can use by walking in. Our implant cost guide lists every fee. For veneers, a more conservative plan often gives a better result for less: our veneers cost guide explains.
Questions to Ask Any Clinic
- Exactly what will be done: veneers or crowns? Implants with what timetable?
- How much tooth will be removed, and why that much?
- Who is treating me, and what are their qualifications and registration?
- Which materials, which implant system, and which lab?
- How long are the implants left to heal before the final teeth?
- What guarantee is there, and how does aftercare work once I'm home?
- What happens, and what does it cost, if I need a repair?
A good clinic anywhere answers all of these in writing. Be wary of one that answers with a price.
The Alternatives at Home
For a whiter, straighter smile, a more conservative plan usually gives a natural result that still looks like you: aligners to straighten, whitening, then bonding or a smaller number of veneers, with the result shown first as a trial smile. For missing teeth, implants planned on a CT scan and placed with a guide, with the healing time they need, and aftercare down the road rather than across a continent.
Already Had Treatment Abroad?
Bring your paperwork, any X-rays or scans, and the name of the implant system if you have it. We'll examine what's been done, take a CT scan if needed, and tell you honestly what's fine, what needs watching and what needs fixing. There's no judgement in it; our job is to look after the teeth you have now.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.