From Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Ali Direnç Ulaşan and the team at Milim Dental – a surgeon-led, Health Tourism Authorized boutique dental center, located about a 1-hour drive from Sabiha Gökçen Airport.

If you’re researching dental implants in Turkey, you’ll quickly find hundreds of offers, price lists and package deals.

What most of them don’t explain clearly is the part patients actually worry about:

How long does the whole process really take?

How many trips do I need to make to Turkey?

What is the healing like – will I be without teeth?

What happens when I fly home – who follows me up?

This article answers those questions step by step, from the perspective of a surgeon-led, boutique clinic that treats dental tourism as serious medical care – not just a quick holiday add-on.

1. Big Picture: How Dental Implants in Turkey Are Usually Structured

Most implant plans for international patients follow one of these patterns:

Single / few implants – to replace one or several missing teeth

Full-arch solutions – such as All-on-4 / All-on-6 or full mouth rehabilitation

Revision / complex cases – failed implants, severe bone loss, zygomatic implants, sinus lifts, bone grafting

For all of them, the roadmap usually looks like:

Remote planning before you fly

First visit to Turkey – surgery and early healing phase

Healing period at home – bone integration and soft tissue healing

Second visit to Turkey – final teeth, fine-tuning and long-term plan

At Milim Dental, we adapt this structure to your specific case so that:

Your time in Turkey is used efficiently

Your healing is medically safe

Your aftercare is realistic once you go home

Let’s break this down in detail.

2. Phase 0 – Before You Fly: Remote Consultation & Planning

Good implant treatment does not start the day you land. It starts weeks before, with planning.

2.1. Online consultation

We begin with a video call or detailed online consultation, where we:

Learn your main complaints and goals

Review any existing x-rays, CBCT scans or reports you can share

Discuss medical history (medications, diabetes, blood thinners, smoking, previous surgeries)

This allows us to:

See whether dental implants in Turkey are truly the right solution

Decide if you need bone grafts, sinus lifts or zygomatic implants

Estimate whether you fit better in a 2-trip plan or a more complex staged plan

2.2. Preliminary treatment plan and time estimate

Based on this information, we send you:

A preliminary plan (e.g. “Upper All-on-4, lower 4 implants and crowns”)

An approximate healing timeline (e.g. “3–4 months between visits”)

The recommended number of days for each trip to Turkey

You use this to book flights and accommodation with realistic expectations – not miracle promises.

3. Phase 1 – First Visit to Turkey: Surgery & Immediate Aftercare

Depending on complexity, your first visit typically lasts 3–10 days.

3.1. Day 1 – In-person examination & digital planning

On your first day at Milim Dental, we:

Perform a full clinical examination

Take digital scans, x-rays and, when needed, 3D CBCT

Confirm bone volume and the feasibility of the proposed plan

Discuss alternative options if we find better or safer solutions

Because we’re a surgeon-led, multidisciplinary clinic, treatment planning is often done together by:

Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon (myself)

Prosthodontist / restorative dentist

Periodontist (gum specialist), when needed

We use digital planning to decide:

Exact positions and angles of the implants

Whether we can offer immediate temporary teeth (e.g. All-on-4 same-day loading)

How many implants per arch are needed for long-term stability

3.2. Day 2–3 – Surgery day (implants, extractions, bone grafts)

On surgery day, under local anaesthesia (and sedation when appropriate), we may:

Carefully remove hopeless teeth

Perform bone grafts or sinus lifts where necessary

Place the planned dental implants (single, multiple, All-on-4, zygomatic, etc.)

The surgery length varies:

Single implant: often 30–60 minutes

Full arch implants: typically 2–3 hours, depending on complexity

Our focus during surgery:

Stable, precise implant placement

Gentle handling of bone and soft tissue

Minimising post-operative discomfort and swelling

3.3. Immediate temporary teeth (when possible)

For full-arch cases (All-on-4 / All-on-6), if primary stability is good and your medical profile allows it, we often:

Take impressions or digital scans immediately after surgery

Provide a fixed temporary bridge within 24–72 hours

This means:

You do not have to go home without teeth

You can speak and smile during healing with a provisional fixed solution

In other cases (e.g. big bone grafts, very soft bone, complex revisions), we may prefer:

Removable temporary dentures

Or a delayed fixed temporary, to protect the grafts

We always explain clearly why a certain approach is chosen for you.

3.4. Post-operative checks before you fly home

In the days after surgery, we schedule:

Check-up appointments to monitor swelling, comfort and healing

Suture checks (and removal if indicated before you leave)

Detailed post-operative instructions, both verbal and written

Only when we are satisfied with your early healing do we say:

“You are safe to fly home. Here is exactly what you need to do next.”

4. Healing Timeline: What Happens in Your Jaw After Implants Are Placed?

The key biological process after implant placement is osseointegration – the direct connection between your bone and the implant surface.

Typical timelines (these can vary by case):

Lower jaw implants (denser bone):

Approx. 8–12 weeks for solid integration

Upper jaw implants (softer bone):

Approx. 12–16 weeks

Implants placed with extensive bone grafts / sinus lifts:

Sometimes 4–9 months total healing, depending on the procedure

Remember:

Even when you have immediate temporary teeth, the implants are still healing underneath.

We protect them with a soft diet and controlled bite during this period.

4.1. How you feel in the first days

Most patients experience:

Swelling peaking in the first 48–72 hours

Mild to moderate discomfort controlled with prescribed painkillers

Sometimes bruising on the skin, especially after larger surgeries

We give you:

A clear medication plan (pain relief, antibiotics if indicated)

Instructions for ice application in the early period

Guidelines for oral hygiene (how to clean the area safely)

4.2. How you eat during healing

We usually recommend:

Soft diet for at least the first 1–2 weeks

For immediately loaded full-arch bridges:

Soft, non-crunchy food for 6–8 weeks

Avoid biting hard foods directly with the front teeth

Following these rules helps the implants integrate predictably and protects bone grafts.

5. After You Fly Home: Follow-Up and Daily Life

Many patients worry about the moment they leave Turkey:

“What if something goes wrong when I’m back home?”

“Who will follow me up?”

At Milim Dental, we manage this in a structured way.

5.1. Your first weeks at home

You will return home with:

Written post-operative instructions

A list of medications and how long to take them

Clear diet recommendations

Our contact details for WhatsApp / email follow-up

We usually advise:

Gentle brushing and antiseptic rinses as instructed

Avoiding smoking or at least reducing it significantly during healing

Watching for signs of abnormal pain, severe swelling or continuous bleeding

5.2. Cooperation with your local dentist

We encourage you to:

Have at least one check-up with a local dentist in the first 2–4 weeks, especially after big surgeries

Share your x-rays and treatment report that we provide

If your local dentist has questions, we are happy to:

Explain the treatment plan and implant positions

Coordinate care if any minor adjustments are needed

Our goal is not to “own” you as a patient forever, but to ensure continuity of care between Turkey and your home country.

6. Phase 2 – Second Visit to Turkey: Final Teeth & Fine-Tuning

Once osseointegration is complete and your gums are stable, it’s time for the definitive restorations – the teeth you’ll live with long term.

6.1. When should you come back?

Most commonly:

After 3–6 months for straightforward implant cases

After longer periods if major bone grafts or sinus lifts were done

We confirm the timing based on:

Your healing photos and symptoms

Control x-rays (from home or taken when you arrive)

6.2. What happens during this second visit?

Depending on your case (single crowns vs full arch):

Day 1–2 – Scans and impressions

Remove temporary prosthesis (if present)

Take digital scans or precision impressions of your implants and bite

Choose tooth colour and discuss shape, length and smile design

Try-ins & adjustments

For full-arch solutions, we often do:

A test frame (for fit and stability)

A wax or prototype try-in to check aesthetics, phonetics and bite

We adjust tooth length, shape and smile line together with you

Final delivery

Screw or cement the final crowns/bridges into place

Check bite, speech, lip support and overall comfort

Give detailed instructions on cleaning, maintenance and check-ups

The second visit typically requires:

3–7 days for single or few implants

7–10 days for complex full-arch cases with multiple try-ins

7. What If Something Goes Wrong After Everything Is Finished?

No honest surgeon will say, “There is zero risk.” That’s not medicine.

Possible issues (usually rare when well-planned):

Prolonged pain or swelling

Gum irritation around implants

Difficulty cleaning under bridges

Occasional screw loosening or chipping of the prosthesis after years of use

How we handle this at Milim Dental:

Direct communication: you can send photos, videos or x-rays via WhatsApp or email

Remote triage: we advise whether it’s:

A simple local issue your home dentist can solve, or

Something that truly requires a return visit

Clear documentation: we give you and your local dentist enough information to understand the system (type of implants, connection, prosthesis design)

Our aim is to avoid surprises and support you over the long term, not just until the final photo is taken.

8. Why the Type of Clinic Matters for Timeline, Healing & Aftercare

Choosing where to have dental implants in Turkey is not just about the price per implant.

For safe healing and realistic aftercare, it matters that your clinic is:

Surgeon-led

At Milim Dental, planning and surgery are led by an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, not just a general dentist with weekend courses.

Multidisciplinary

Implant, prosthetic, gum and bite decisions are made together, in one team.

Boutique, not high-volume

We deliberately see fewer dental tourism patients per day, so we can:

Spend more time planning

Follow your healing more closely

Adjust the timeline if your body needs more time

Health Tourism Authorized

This means we work under the official medical tourism framework, with strict standards for organisation, documentation and patient safety.

Add to this a convenient location –

about a 1-hour drive from Sabiha Gökçen Airport –

and you have a setup designed for serious, long-term implant work, not just quick cosmetic fixes.

9. In Summary: What You Can Expect from Dental Implants in Turkey with Milim Dental

If we compress everything into a simple timeline, a typical journey looks like this:

Before you fly

Online consultation, sharing scans, preliminary plan and quotation

First visit (3–10 days)

In-person exam, digital planning

Surgery: extractions, implants, bone grafting as needed

Immediate temporary teeth in many full-arch cases

Early check-ups and post-operative instructions

Healing at home (8–16 weeks or more in complex cases)

Bone integration around implants

Soft diet and careful hygiene

Optional local check-ups and remote follow-up with our team

Second visit (3–10 days)

Scans and impressions

Try-ins and aesthetic/bite adjustments

Final crowns or bridges, maintenance plan

Long-term

Regular check-ups (in Turkey or at home)

Professional cleanings

Honest support if any issues arise

If you are considering dental implants in Turkey and want a clear answer to

“What is the real timeline, how does healing work, and what happens after I fly home?” –

the essential point is this:

Don’t just buy implants. Choose a system, a team and a follow-up plan

that will still make sense 5, 10, 15 years from now.

That is exactly how we design our implant journeys at Milim Dental:

with your timeline, healing and life after the plane lands built into the plan from day one.