Turkish dental implants: what you get from our Antalya clinic

Turkish dental implants are the same titanium implants used in the UK, placed by a Turkish dentist and usually for a lower price. What changes is the travel, the timing and who looks after you afterwards. We are a licensed dental clinic in Muratpaşa, Antalya, and this page explains what dental implants in Turkey look like when you have them with us: the brands, the two trips, the scan, healing, and the records you take home.

The implant brands we use

We place three implant systems: MegaGen, Neodent and Straumann. All three are long-established manufacturers whose parts are widely used around the world, including in UK practices.

We charge £300 per implant for each of them. That is a deliberate choice. If one brand cost more, it would be tempting to pick on price. With one price, the dentist can choose the system whose shape, size and connection suit your bone and the tooth that will sit on top. The brand chosen for you is written on your treatment plan with the reason, before you book flights.

Who is a good candidate, and who is not

Most adults with one or more missing teeth can be considered. An implant tends to suit you if your gums are healthy, or you are willing to treat gum disease first, and your general health allows a minor operation under local anaesthetic.

Implants are not suitable, or need more caution, in these situations:

• Heavy smoking. Pooled research links smoking with a clearly higher rate of implants failing to bond. We will ask you to stop or cut right down around surgery.
• Poorly controlled diabetes. Well-controlled diabetes is usually fine. High blood sugar slows healing.
• Certain bone medicines. Drugs for osteoporosis such as bisphosphonates, and some cancer treatments, can affect how the jaw heals. Please list every medicine you take.
• Radiotherapy to the head or neck. This needs specialist assessment and may rule out treatment abroad.
• Untreated gum disease. It is the main long-term threat to implants and must be controlled first.
• Under-18s, whose jaws are still growing.

If a tooth can still be saved with a filling, root canal or crown, the dentist will tell you. We would rather keep a healthy tooth than replace it.

The 3D scan decides the plan

Before any surgery we take a CBCT scan at our clinic. Unlike a flat X-ray, it shows the bone in three dimensions, including the nerve in the lower jaw and the sinus above the upper back teeth. The dentist measures the bone at each site and chooses the length, width and angle of each implant from those measurements.

The scan also shows whether the bone has shrunk since the tooth was lost, which is common after a few years. If it is too thin, a bone graft can add width. If the sinus has dropped too low, a sinus lift adds height. Either is only done when the scan shows it is needed, and it is priced in your written plan before treatment. Very severe bone loss in the upper jaw sometimes calls for zygomatic implants instead.

Two trips to Antalya, step by step

1. Plan from home. Send photos or a recent X-ray by WhatsApp or our form. A dentist replies with a written, itemised plan showing how many implants, which brand and why. There is nothing to pay at this stage.
2. Trip one, day one. Examination, X-rays and the 3D scan. The final plan and price are confirmed in writing before anything is done.
3. Implant placement. Under local anaesthetic, with sedation available if you are anxious. A single implant usually takes well under an hour. Any teeth that need removing are taken out free of charge.
4. Fly home and heal. The bone bonds to the implant, usually over about 3 months in the lower jaw and 4 to 6 months in the upper. Your coordinator stays in touch on WhatsApp.
5. Trip two. The implant is checked, scanned and fitted with its abutment and zirconia crown. The bite is adjusted, and you leave with written aftercare, your implant passport and copies of your scans.

The first trip includes 4 hotel nights and the second includes 5, with airport and clinic transfers both times. Flights are not included. More on dates, hotels and getting around is on your trip.

Healing and the first few days

Most people feel sore and slightly swollen for two or three days, and ordinary painkillers usually control it. Upper-jaw work can leave a bruise on the cheek that fades over a week or so. For the first days keep to soft, cool food, chew on the other side, rinse gently with salt water from the day after surgery and avoid smoking, alcohol and hard exercise. Most patients fly home comfortably a few days after placement. You will have the aftercare instructions in writing.

Risks you should know about

An implant is surgery, and things can go wrong. The main risks are:

• The implant does not bond to the bone. It is removed, the site heals, and a new one is placed.
• Infection around the implant, early on or years later. Inflammation of the gum and bone around implants, called peri-implantitis, was found in roughly one in five patients in a large review, and poor cleaning makes it more likely.
• Numbness of the lip or chin if the lower-jaw nerve is irritated. Uncommon, and planning on the 3D scan is how we keep a safe distance.
• Sinus irritation, mainly after a sinus lift or implants in the upper back jaw.
• Loose screws or chipped crowns, more often in people who grind.

For context, a 2019 review in the Journal of Dentistry estimated that about 96% of implants were still in place after ten years. That figure comes from many studies and many clinics. It is not a promise about any one implant.

What it costs

Hotel nights for both stays and transfers are part of the implant package. Flights are your own. If several teeth are missing next to each other, an implant bridge can use fewer implants than one per tooth. If most teeth are failing, read full-mouth implants. All prices are on our prices page.

Guarantee and aftercare at home

The implant and abutment are guaranteed for life in writing, and a failed implant is replaced once free of charge. The crown carries 5 years. Conditions are in the written terms, including good hygiene, regular check-ups and a night guard if you grind. Guarantee work is carried out at our clinic in Antalya.

Day to day, you look after an implant much like a natural tooth: brush twice a day, clean between the teeth with small brushes or floss, and see a dentist or hygienist for regular check-ups. Your implant passport means they know exactly what is in your mouth.