Checklists from an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon – honest risk vs benefit, not just marketing
If you’ve been searching things like:
“safe dental clinic in Turkey”
“dental tourism Turkey risks”
“Turkey teeth good or bad?”
…you’ve probably seen two extremes:
Aggressive advertising: “Hollywood smile in 3 days! 70% cheaper! Best clinic in Turkey!”
Alarmist headlines: “I regret getting my teeth done in Turkey”, “Turkey teeth disaster stories”
The truth sits between these two poles.
Turkey has:
Very experienced surgeons and dentists
High-level digital equipment
Real cost advantages
But also:
Clinics that over-treat
Sales-driven packages
Little or no long-term follow-up plan
I’m Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Ali Direnç Ulaşan, clinical director and owner of Milim Dental – a surgeon-led, Health Tourism Authorized boutique dental center, located about a 1-hour drive from Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
Every week we see both sides:
International patients who come to us first and have beautiful, stable results
Patients who arrive for revision after over-aggressive crowns, failed implants or rushed treatments elsewhere
This article is not a “Turkey is perfect” brochure, nor a “never come here” warning.
It’s a practical, honest checklist to help you choose a safe dental clinic in Turkey – wherever you end up going.
Before we talk about clinics, we need to talk about you.
Ask yourself:
Do you have serious medical conditions? (heart problems, uncontrolled diabetes, bleeding disorders, recent chemotherapy, etc.)
Are you taking blood thinners or complex medication combinations?
Do you have a history of complications with anaesthesia or surgery?
Can you realistically travel back if a major issue appears, or will this be a “one shot only” trip?
Dental tourism is not automatically wrong, but it is not for everyone.
A safe clinic will:
Ask about your medical history in detail
Request letters from your own doctors when needed
Sometimes tell you “no, it’s safer to treat you locally”
If a clinic seems uninterested in your health – only in how quickly you can send a deposit – that’s a red flag before you even start.
Let’s be very honest.
Lower cost compared with many European countries, the UK or US
Access to advanced implantology and digital dentistry
High caseload: many surgeons in Turkey do a lot of full-mouth and All-on-4 cases, which builds experience
You can combine treatment with a short break if planned sensibly
Over-treatment (for example, 20 crowns on teeth that only needed whitening and minor orthodontics)
Too fast timelines that ignore biology – promises of doing in 3 days what should be done over months
Sales-driven plans: treatment decided by a coordinator, not the doctor
Poor documentation and follow-up: no clear plan for what happens after you fly home
Your goal is to capture the benefits while avoiding these specific risks.
That’s where checklists matter.
Before social media, look at hard facts.
Full clinic name
Physical address (not just “Turkey” or a mall name)
Landline phone number, not only WhatsApp
If you can’t easily find the actual location and legal name, walk away.
In Turkey, reputable international clinics operate under official health tourism authorization.
Ask:
“Are you Health Tourism Authorized?”
“Can you show me your authorization number or certificate?”
This doesn’t guarantee perfection, but it means:
There is regulated infrastructure
Certain standards for organisation and documentation exist
At Milim Dental, we highlight that we are a Health Tourism Authorized boutique center precisely because it matters for safety and traceability.
A safe dental journey is not about the brand; it’s about the people.
You should know:
The name of your main surgeon or dentist
Their specialty (e.g. Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, Periodontist, Prosthodontist, Orthodontist, General Dentist)
Their experience with the specific procedure you need (implants, All-on-4, veneers, zygoma, etc.)
Red flag:
Only the “clinic brand” is visible everywhere.
No real information on who is planning and performing your work.
Ask directly:
“Who will decide my final treatment plan – a doctor or a coordinator?”
“Will I have a consultation with the surgeon/dentist before anything is final?”
At Milim Dental, complex treatment plans are led by an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with a multidisciplinary team. Sales or coordination staff support logistics, not clinical decisions.
Planning is where safety really begins.
For serious work (implants, full mouth restorations), you should expect:
Intraoral examination
Panoramic x-ray at minimum
CBCT (3D scan) for complex implant cases, sinus lifts, zygomatic implants, etc.
Digital impressions / scans for prosthetic planning
Be careful with:
Clinics that claim to plan major implant work or 20 crowns only from phone photos
Plans that never change after real x-rays and examination – that usually means the plan was never really “individual”
A safe clinic is not afraid of the word:
“We have options.”
For example:
Whitening + aligners + minimal veneers instead of 20 crowns
Implant overdenture instead of over-ambitious fixed bridges on poor bone
Staged treatment rather than trying to do everything in one ultra-short trip
If every problem has the same solution (“full crowns” or “full implants package”), that’s not medicine – it’s a product, and you are the raw material.
Every procedure has risks. Dentistry is medicine, not magic.
If a clinic talks only about guarantees and “zero risk”, be suspicious.
The success rates and potential complications for implants, sinus lifts, bone grafts?
The limits of veneers and crowns (e.g. risk of root canal, chipping, gum recession)?
The realistic lifetime of restorations and the need for future maintenance?
A serious team will tell you where your case is:
Straightforward
Moderately complex
High risk (and how they’ll manage that)
Before surgery or major treatment, you should receive:
Written consent forms in a language you truly understand
A written treatment plan describing procedures, phases and approximate costs
At the end, a report summarising what was done
If everything stays vague and only in WhatsApp messages, you have no protection.
This is the biggest weak point in many dental tourism setups.
A safe clinic will:
Explain how long implants need to heal
Tell you how many trips are needed and why
Give you written instructions for post-operative care
Encourage you to see a local dentist for routine follow-up
At Milim Dental, we assume from day one that:
Your case must make sense both in Turkey and at home.
That means:
We work in a way that a local dentist can understand and maintain
We are ready to share x-rays, implant system info, and reports with your local clinic
We accept that sometimes minor issues will be solved locally with our guidance
Ask:
“If I have a problem after I go home, how can I contact you?”
“Do you respond personally to WhatsApp/email?”
“Will I get a point of contact for follow-up?”
If the only answer is “Don’t worry, nothing will happen” – that’s not a follow-up plan.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of warning signs.
Prices that are dramatically lower than the general market, with everything “included” and no explanation of materials or time.
A treatment plan that appears in 5 minutes on WhatsApp, before any x-ray or proper medical history.
Instagram and TikTok full of extreme before/after photos, but almost no talk of:
Healing
Complications
Follow-up
Proposals to crown or file down every tooth just to change shape or colour, even when teeth are healthy.
One-trip promises for complex full-mouth implants that ignore the biology of osseointegration.
No clear doctor names, only brand logos and generic “our expert team” phrases.
Pressure tactics: “You must book within 24 hours to get this price.”
If you see several of these together, pause. A cheap, fast solution can become very expensive and slow to fix later.
To make this concrete, here is how we structure a typical international case at Milim Dental:
Remote pre-assessment
We ask for medical history, photos, x-rays (if available).
We give a preliminary plan with clear limits (“this may change after CBCT”).
In-clinic diagnostics and multidisciplinary discussion
On arrival, we perform full examination, digital scans, CBCT where needed.
Cases are discussed between surgeon + prosthetic dentist + other relevant specialists.
Final plan with options and staging
You receive options (e.g. implants vs overdentures, crowns vs veneers vs ortho+whitening).
We explain risks, benefits and timelines of each option.
Written consent and transparent pricing
You sign informed consent forms.
You receive a clear cost breakdown and understand what is included.
Treatment executed with enough time
Because we are a boutique clinic, we schedule enough time per patient – no overcrowded days.
Surgery and prosthetics are done with digital planning and documentation.
Post-operative monitoring and discharge
We see you for check-ups before you fly back.
You leave with written instructions, reports and direct contact details.
Remote and shared follow-up
We stay reachable via WhatsApp/email.
We cooperate with your local dentist if any minor interventions are required.
For major issues or long-term checks, we help you plan smart, efficient return visits.
This is not the only safe way – but it is an example of a system that respects both medicine and reality.
You don’t need to be a dentist to evaluate a clinic in Turkey.
You just need the right questions.
If a clinic:
Has clear legal status and Health Tourism Authorization
Puts named clinicians front and centre
Plans treatment with proper diagnostics and genuine options
Explains risks as well as benefits
Gives you a real aftercare strategy and stays contactable
…then your chances of a good, safe outcome rise dramatically.
If, on the other hand, it feels like:
A travel agency with drills
A photoshoot factory
A place where nobody has time to explain anything
…then the smartest thing you can do is walk away, no matter how shiny the offer looks.
Choosing a safe dental clinic in Turkey is not about finding the clinic with the loudest marketing.
It’s about finding the clinic where medicine, ethics and organisation line up –
so your new smile is not just beautiful in photos, but healthy, functional and supported for years to come.
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Milim Dental Hospital isn't just a clinic—it's where confident smiles begin. With a team of world-class specialists, advanced technology, and a patient-first approach, we turn dental care into a premium experience.
We prioritize hygiene, comfort, and tailor-made treatments designed just for you. Don’t just take our word for it—explore real stories from real patients.
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Milim Dental Hospital provides comprehensive dental services in a spacious 1,000 m² facility, supported by a wide team of dental professionals including specialists in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Prosthodontics, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, and Periodontology.
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