Irish patients who had their teeth done in Turkey are spending up to €40,000 on remedial procedures due to gum infection or poor quality of care, the Irish Dental Association has said.
Over the past decade there has been an increase in the number of people travelling abroad for cosmetic dentistry, with Turkey being a particularly popular destination, primarily due to cost.
Recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the cost of dentistry increased by 20 per cent in the five years from February 2020 to February last.
Various dentist websites state the cost of a crown in Ireland is between €600 and €850 per tooth, while patients can get crowns for as little as €150 in Turkey.
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Dr Rory Boyd, who served as president of the Irish Dental Association until the end of his term earlier this month and is a specialist in reconstructive dentistry, said there are many good dental practitioners in Turkey and elsewhere, but he “only sees the failures”.
“The most common issue we see is overtreatment. Usually from Turkey, people come in with 10 crowns on top and 10 crowns on the bottom. There was one patient who needed only three crowns and whitening, but came back with 20 crowns from abroad,” he said.
“And a lot of the time those crowns are bonded together, meaning you can’t floss in between them. This can lead to gum infection and pain.”
When this occurs, Dr Boyd said, they are required to remove the crowns, stabilise the infections and teeth and then reapply new crowns. He said he would see on average six people a month with these issues.
“The treatment takes about six months. They come into us every three weeks or so, with multiple sessions where you’re spending around three hours in the dental chair,” he said.
“For removal, treatment and replacement, it can cost up to €40,000, and that’s not including the cost of what you paid for the initial treatment abroad.”
According to Dr Boyd, the treatment abroad is generally for cosmetic purposes rather than treating an oral healthcare issue.
“Teeth structures should be seen as a sacred structure. Even with perfect application, there is no way they’ll all last to the end of life. And crowns will need lifetime care,” he added.
Dr Boyd was speaking in advance of the IDA’s annual conference in Kilkenny on Saturday, where participants will discuss proposed reforms as well as links to gut health, and topics such as Botox and aesthetic procedures.
Dr Mairead Browne, a general dentist and aesthetic practitioner in Cork, will highlight problems around the lack of regulation for aesthetic procedures such as filler.
“In terms of dermal filler, there are 200 products on the market that are not CE-marked. There is a patient safety risk here, because filler can lead to blindness if not inserted properly. Skin can become necrotic, which is where the skin dies off,” she said.
Dr Browne highlighted that because filler is unregulated, unqualified people can administer it. However, only medical practitioners such as doctors and dentists are able to reverse it.
“As a result, people are having severe non-reversible side effects,” she added.
