Turkey dental work leaves woman in constant pain

A woman has said she is living in constant pain and is unable to breathe through her nose after having dental work in Turkey.

Leanne Abeyance, 41, from Telford, said she had been left with a painful, infected face and the implants could not be removed due to the infections.

Her dental work also caused a collapsed septum which she said the NHS would not fix as it was deemed a cosmetic procedure.

She spent £3,000 on the initial treatment, she said, and has since spent another £2,000 on private work at home to relieve the pain. The government has warned people about the risks of travelling abroad for cosmetic procedures.

"Every day I wake up and I can't breathe through my nose," Ms Abeyance, a DJ and producer, said.

She decided to travel to Antalya in April 2024 to get four dental implants after previously having veneers fitted in the country.

She said she had been quoted about £50,000 to get the work done in the UK but found a dental practice in Antalya which took £3,000 in cash up front.

Before undergoing the treatment, performed under local anaesthetic, she said her surgeon told her she would have a sinus lift and a bone graft, along with removing her veneers and having implants put in.

Sometimes a sinus lift is needed for a dental implant if there is not enough bone in the upper jaw, particularly in the back area, to support the implant.

Despite the local anaesthetic, she said she could "feel everything".

"With the bone graft, I could feel a hammer smashing into the side of my face.

"The sinus lift, I could feel my whole face being lifted up. My face was black and blue".

After two days of not being able to "eat or sleep" due to the pain and swelling, she had temporary teeth put over the implants.

She was supposed to return four months later to get her permanent teeth, but she said she was too afraid to.

When she returned to the UK, things began to deteriorate fast, she said.

She was unable to breathe through her nose and was treated for sinusitis.

When antibiotics did not help, she said she asked her NHS dentist to see her but they said they could not help as she had been warned not to go for the treatment.

She then saw a private dentist where the X-ray showed the implants were piercing her nose. The temporary teeth were removed and dentures put over the top.

The infection continued, however, and she eventually ended up at the Ear, Nose and Throat unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, where medics said they could not take the implants out as her face was too infected.

Nearly 18 months on, Ms Abeyance said she suffered from constant infections in her nose and had to be on daily prescription drugs. She is looking for a surgeon who can help.

"The implants are holding my face together, but it is all infected," she said.

The NHS guidance is that while being treated abroad might be cheaper than the UK, the risks need to be weighed against the savings.

It adds that patients should consult their NHS dentist first as standards vary in different countries.

Ms Abeyance said one of the major reasons people went for surgery abroad is because of the push on social media.

Last month, the government teamed up with TikTok influencers to warn people about the risks of travelling abroad for cosmetic procedures.

Health minister Karin Smyth said that "too many people are being left with life-altering injuries after going abroad for medical procedures, without access to proper advice or safeguards."

"I'm showing people what happened to me so they don't make the same mistake," Ms Abeyance said.