Avoid generic designs, skipped x-rays, rushed timelines, cheap materials, and over-shaved teeth.
Heading to Turkey to get a smile makeover is a really enticing idea. Thousands of people arrive at us every year. They are the ones looking for excellent dentistry and huge changes. Let’s dig a little deeper. Different clinics may not always follow equally strict clinical or ethical standards.
Handing over your smile to a clinic is like handing over your health and your confidence to them, too. At Lema Dental Clinic, we get a chance to meet patients coming from all over the world. Their presence gives us even more happiness to help with great care. However, we find the job of rectifying the mischiefs of quick service clinics is frequently ours.
It is necessary to safeguard both your health and your investment. Here is what we observe when patients come to our clinic. Don’t overlook these five major red flags.
1. The “One-Size-Fits-All” Design
Your facial structure is one of a kind. In the same way, your smile should be as well. A clinic that offers the same one-size-fits-all “Hollywood” smile to everyone is a big warning sign.
Professor Doctor Coşkun Yıldız has pointed out on several occasions that an excellent veneer is prepared digitally even before the tooth is touched. To achieve that, we have to look at your lips, facial harmony, and skin tone. If a clinic only presents a smile catalog and asks you to choose, that is a good reason to leave. Genuine aesthetic dentistry is an art, not a production line.
2. Ignoring the Basics
Think of your jawbone as a house foundation. You wouldn’t build a mansion on a cracked foundation, right? The same goes for your mouth.
Does a dental clinic decide on giving you veneers without first going through your X-rays or examining the condition of your gums? Quite honestly, they are putting making money before your health. Indeed, if you get veneers while having infected gums or cavities that are not treated, it will be a failure. A trustworthy clinical partner will always look after your health first, before concentrating on your looks.
3. Hasty Schedules
We understand you are traveling and your time is limited. Unfortunately, it is not possible to force nature. Quality requires time.
Dentist Polen Akkılıç and her team frequently warn the patients about this. To make great ceramic veneers, the porcelain is first milled with great precision and then hand-layered. Also, the trial fitting must be really thorough. Getting veneers made within 24 hours is a clinic’s promise? They are compromising quality. On top of that, they are probably making use of cheap, block-milled materials. As a result, you lose the natural, translucent appearance of genuine teeth.
Safe vs. Risky Dental Tourism
| Clinical Step | The Safe Approach | The Red Flag |
| Consultation | Needs x-rays, 3D scans, and health history. | Quotes a final price from a quick selfie. |
| Materials | Uses premium E-max or high-grade porcelain. | Uses cheap, unnamed “ceramic” blocks. |
| Tooth Prep | Saves your natural enamel. | Grinds down healthy teeth to small pegs. |
| Timeline | Takes 5 to 7 days for proper trial fits. | Rushed in 1 to 2 days with no trial phase. |
| Aftercare | Gives a real warranty and home-care guide. | Stops answering your calls after payment. |
4. Opaque “Chiclet” Teeth
There is no flat, pure white tooth in nature. Natural teeth show a distance fade. Near the gums, they are warmer in color. At the bottom edges, they are clear and glass-like in appearance.
A fake-looking smile with a full set of opaque teeth is the major warning sign. Closely examine the clinic’s before-and-after pictures. Are the teeth just big and solid white blocks? This means cheap materials are probably used. Besides that, it is also a sign of the absence of highly skilled dental laboratories. The question is, are you willing to give up your smile for a fake-looking set of teeth? A great dental artist correctly imitates nature.
5. Excessive Tooth Reduction
The purpose of the modern-day veneers is to be as tooth-friendly as possible. The aim is to preserve your natural enamel. Enamel, being the protective shield of the tooth nerve, is a great metaphor.
Low end, poorly resourced clinics most probably won’t be able to carry out ultra-thin veneers. They might treat your natural teeth as little pegs, whereas that is not a veneer treatment at all. That’s a significant crown preparation. They just refer to it as a veneer to make a sale. On top of the drawback that this type of shaving causes the tooth nerve to become inflamed, it also significantly shortens the functional period of the tooth. Don’t forget to discuss the possibility of “minimally invasive” methods with your dentist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pretty Instagram photos can be deceiving. Getting the doctors’ real credentials is something you have to ask for. Make sure that the doctors are registered with the Turkish Dental Association. Find out which dental lab they use. A good clinic will not hesitate to share this information with you.
Definitely not! Needless to say, our philosophy is that a natural tooth should be saved as much as possible. We are only removing a very small portion of the enamel, even for veneers, so small that it is hardly detectable by the naked eye. In case a clinician says that they have to sharpen your teeth like pegs, then it is crowns that they are talking about, not veneers.
Our favorite is lithium disilicate, more commonly called E-max. It is very durable. Most importantly, it reflects light in the same way as dental enamel. It is this feature that supplies the beautiful, clear edge to the smile, making it look so real.
You should plan on staying for about 5 to 7 days. This way, we are able to do everything. After teeth preparation, making temporaries, and while our master lab is doing your final veneers, this time is spent mostly on a trial fit before bonding.
It does not end here. A good clinic has an international support team for patients. We provide you with a clearly outlined warranty and detailed care guides. We continue to be available for you and your local dentist with virtual consultation calls.
- Blatz, M. B., Chiche, G., Holst, S., & Sadan, A. (2019). Evolution of aesthetic dentistry. Journal of Dental Research, 98(12), 1294-1304.
- Peumans, M., Van Meerbeek, B., Lambrechts, P., & Vanherle, G. (2000). Porcelain veneers: a review of the literature. Journal of Dentistry, 28(3), 163-177.
- Layton, D., & Walton, T. (2012). An up to 16-year prospective study of 304 porcelain veneers. International Journal of Prosthodontics, 25(1), 9-15.
- Morimoto, S., Albanesi, R. B., Sesma, N., Agar, I. G., & Braga, S. S. (2016). Main clinical outcomes of feldspathic porcelain and glass-ceramic laminate veneers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of survival and complication rates. International Journal of Prosthodontics, 29(1), 38-49.
- Magne, P., & Belser, U. (2002). Bonded porcelain restorations in the anterior dentition: a biomimetic approach. Quintessence Publishing.
