As reported in the media, many people are going abroad for cosmetic dental treatments only to return to face unexpected invasive treatment and sometimes serious complications.
Fuelled by the trend for 'Turkey teeth', people are looking to achieve their dream smile by travelling abroad. However, in reality they are often receiving treatment that our UK dentists would never offer due to industry regulations and an obligation to offer patients treatments that can enhance a smile but while maintaining and achieving a healthy mouth.
Instead, people are travelling abroad to get cut-price treatment to achieve a 'perfect' white, straight smile, as advocated on some social media and reality TV programmes. This trend has seen #TurkeyTeeth reach more than 130 million views on social media.
As the BBC has reported, one woman flew to Turkey for 26 veneers to improve her smile for her son's wedding. Veneers are thin pieces of porcelain that cover the front of your teeth, which can be ideal for concealing stained, chipped or crooked teeth, or for reducing or closing the gaps between your teeth. However, although less invasive than cutting down teeth for crowns, veneers also require grinding down or removing part of the tooth, including some enamel, to hold the veneer in place. As such, rarely can a patient return to their natural teeth after veneer placement, so having 26 veneers on potentially healthy teeth is quite a destructive approach to achieving a better smile.
However, when this woman returned home she discovered she had been given crowns, where most of her healthy teeth had been filed down to stubs, and crowns made to give a very white and straight smile. She had not given her informed consent for such a destructive treatment to her healthy teeth, and has faced ongoing pain and infection, needing root canal treatment to try and save some of the damaged teeth; however, her only long-term options are now dental implants or dentures.
It was also reported that sometimes clinics abroad are placing crowns to give the appearance of bigger or longer teeth, but without considering the affect on a person's bite, which can cause misalignment and jaw problems.
Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association, warns "Patients need to provide informed consent for any treatment they have and be wary of a hard sell, as the reality is rarely as simple as it appears on Instagram. Sadly, many UK dentists are now picking up the pieces when things go wrong. We strongly advise people considering this to check a dentist's qualifications and experience and whether they are insured if things go wrong."
People should always see an experienced, well-qualified dentist they can trust, who will discuss the treatment and gain informed consent before using the most researched materials and proven techniques to deliver treatment to the highest of standards, safely.
