Turkey Teeth FAQs

"Turkey teeth" is the nickname for cosmetic dental work done in Turkey, usually a full set of veneers or crowns, and sometimes implants or a full-arch bridge. It is not a clinical term, and it covers everything from excellent work to the over-prepared, blocky results that go viral. The difference is the clinic, the planning and the materials, not the country. At UK Smiles the work is planned with Digital Smile Design around your face, uses Emax and zirconia, and removes the minimum tooth needed for the treatment you choose.

Yes, when the treatment is carried out in a licensed Dental Centre with proper sterilisation, experienced specialists, 3D scans and X-rays before anything is prepared, and clear aftercare once you are home. The clinic UK Smiles uses in Antalya is licensed as a Dental Centre, a higher category than a standard polyclinic, with senior dentists in every specialty and an on-site lab. Risk comes from clinics that skip the diagnosis, over-prepare healthy teeth or fit everything in too few days, which is why we plan every case with a trial fit before anything is fixed.

It starts in the UK: you send photos or come to a consultation in Leeds, the dental team assesses your teeth and you get a written plan and price. In Antalya, the first appointment covers a full examination, 3D scans, shade and shape choice and preparation, with temporaries fitted the same day. The on-site lab makes your new teeth while you have two or three days off, you have a trial fit to check the look and bite, and the final teeth are fitted before you fly home. Veneers and crowns are normally done in one five-night trip; implants need a second, shorter trip once the bone has healed.

Veneers and crowns are made from Emax, a lithium disilicate ceramic prized for its natural translucency, or zirconia, a very strong ceramic used for crowns, bridges and full-arch work. Both are the same materials used in UK private dentistry and are made in the clinic’s own lab from named, batch-recorded brands. Dental implants are medical-grade titanium posts, with a zirconia crown or bridge fitted on top. UK Smiles does not use metal-fused-to-porcelain crowns or composite for full sets.

Per tooth, UK Smiles prices are £175 for a zirconia crown, £280 for an Emax crown or Emax veneer and £270 for a MegaGen implant, against typical UK private prices of £600 to £1,200 per tooth and around £2,000 per implant. A full set is priced as a package: 20 zirconia crowns is £2,980 with your hotel and transfers included, and 20 Emax veneers is around £4,370. All-on-4 for both jaws is £4,500 to £7,500. Every quote is fixed in writing before you book, and our cost guide has the full price table.

Mostly cost: the same materials and the same standard of work cost 50 to 70 per cent less than the UK, because clinics have lower overheads and dental training costs less, not because corners are cut. Turkish cosmetic dentists also do a very high volume of smile makeovers, and clinics with an on-site lab can finish a full set in five days rather than weeks. Add a hotel in Lara and airport transfers as standard, and a trip that pays for itself several times over compared with a UK quote.

Whatever you choose. Shade runs from the natural A1 and B1 through to the bright bleach shades BL1 to BL3, and there are twelve smile styles to pick from, from Natural and Softened to Hollywood. Translucency, surface texture and the shape of every tooth are decided with you at the design stage, so the result can be undetectable or deliberately bright. You can try the combinations on our Design Studio page and see them on real patients in the smile stories and the before and after gallery.

With UK Smiles a full set of 20 zirconia crowns is £2,980 as a package, and 20 Emax veneers around £4,370, in both cases with your hotel in Lara, breakfast and all transfers included. The same work in the UK typically costs £12,000 to £30,000. Full-mouth implant work is priced separately: All-on-4 for both jaws is £4,500 to £7,500 and All-on-6 is £6,400 to £7,200. You do not have to have a full set; your quote reflects the actual number of teeth treated.

The treatment itself, your 3D scans and X-rays, the on-site lab work, the trial fit, your hotel in Lara with breakfast, private VIP transfers from the airport and to every clinic appointment, an English-speaking clinic team, and UK aftercare by message once you are home. Flights are the only part you book yourself, and we help you choose dates that fit your treatment.

No. Your quote is written after the dental team has assessed your photos or scans, and it is the price you pay. If the dentist finds something on the day that changes the plan, for example a tooth that needs a root canal before it can be crowned, you hear about it first, with the reason and the cost, and you decide before anything is done.

Yes. If a friend books with UK Smiles after you have recommended us, we send you a £50 voucher once their treatment is complete. The only rule is that they mention your name before they book, so we can link the two of you up. There is no limit on how many friends you can refer.

You pay a £200 booking fee online to secure your dates, which comes off your total. The balance is paid at the clinic in Turkey by card or cash. If you would rather spread the cost, see our Pay by Card page. There is nothing to pay for the UK consultation or the quote.

Yes. Appointments are booked longer so nobody rushes you, every step is explained before it happens, and you agree a stop signal with the dentist so a raised hand pauses everything, no questions asked. Numbing gel goes on before any injection, you can bring headphones and your own music, take breaks whenever you want and have someone with you in the room. Our nervous patient page goes through all of it.

Oral or IV sedation can be arranged for suitable patients, assessed against your medical history and organised before you travel so nothing is left to the day. You stay breathing for yourself and can respond to the dentist, most people remember very little, and you are usually back at the hotel within hours. General anaesthetic is not offered, because it adds risk and a hospital-style recovery that dental work does not need.

Yes. We run a private Facebook group where UK Smiles patients chat between themselves, from people still deciding to people out in Antalya that week and people who had their treatment years ago. Ask them anything and see their results first-hand. The link is in the footer of every page on this site.

You are numbed before anything starts and the dentist does not begin until you confirm you cannot feel it. Preparation itself is painless; the days afterwards are usually described as tender rather than painful and are managed with normal painkillers. Implant surgery is done under local anaesthetic with sedation if you want it, and most patients are surprised how little they feel.

Veneers suit teeth that are chipped, worn, spaced, mildly crooked or discoloured but structurally sound, because they need healthy enamel to bond to. Teeth that are heavily filled, cracked or root-treated are usually better with a crown, and missing teeth need an implant or bridge. Most patients end up with a mix. The assessment tells you tooth by tooth which is right, and we will say so if veneers are not the answer for you.

You can still be treated. Grinding pushes the design towards zirconia, which is far stronger than Emax, and towards shapes with slightly more robust biting edges. You will be given a nightguard to wear at home, and we ask you to keep wearing it, because porcelain that is protected at night lasts many years longer.

Yes, always. Crowns and veneers fitted over inflamed or receding gums fail early and look wrong at the gum line. If the assessment shows gum disease, that is treated and stabilised first, sometimes on the first trip and sometimes before you travel, and the cosmetic work follows once the gums are healthy.

No. Cosmetic dentistry should wait until the teeth, gums and jaw have finished developing, so UK Smiles treats adults only. There is no upper age limit as long as you are well enough to travel.

MegaGen is the standard implant system at the clinic, a South Korean brand with a long track record and one of the highest success rates in published studies, at £270 per implant. Every implant is CE-certified and its make and batch are recorded on your treatment record, so any dentist anywhere can identify exactly what is in your jaw.

Emax lithium disilicate for veneers and front crowns, and zirconia for crowns, bridges and full-arch work, both made in the clinic’s own lab from the same manufacturers UK labs use. Because the lab is on site, the technicians see your face and your trial fit in person rather than working from a photograph, which is a large part of why the results look natural.