A couple traveled to Turkey to undergo £4,000 cosmetic dental surgery that ‘ruined their lives’

A couple who traveled to Turkey to get £4,000 cosmetic veneers on their teeth say it “ruined their lives” and left them unable to eat or drink without pain.

Jade Tushingham, 32, and her partner Kelly Tushingham, 30, went to Antalya, Turkey, in September 2022. They planned to combine a beach vacation with the procedure, after being attracted by the lower cost of cosmetic surgery. in the country. In the UK, it can cost up to £20,000.

The day after their arrival, the couple apparently visited a private clinic near their hotel for the first stage of their transformation. After undergoing X-rays, they were given doses of local anesthetic while dentists filed their teeth, which they claim caused “instantaneous” pain.

The couple reportedly had to wait in the clinic’s reception for around five hours with their “shark teeth”, before dentists fitted them with temporary veneers. The veneers were left in place for five days while waiting for a permanent set.

Jade and Kelly likened the temporary veneers to “horse teeth” and say they were ill-fitting, making it difficult to eat anything other than soup or mashed potatoes.

Six days later, they were summoned to have their crowns fitted, a procedure they described as a “bloodbath.”

Jade, from Chester, Cheshire, said: “Lots of our friends had already had it done and told us it didn’t hurt. I always wanted to, even though my teeth were fine before. But even now, we are both still in constant pain.”

Leaving Turkey a week later, the couple, who paid £4,240 in total for both sets of permanent veneers, were still in a lot of pain.

“We messaged the dentist on Instagram about it when we got back,” Jade narrated. “It was difficult to communicate due to the language barrier, but she advised us to take ibuprofen for five days and also try a muscle relaxant.”

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“We had already been taking ibuprofen anyway and it didn’t make any difference, so we didn’t know what to do. Nothing seemed to ease the pain.”

He said they wouldn’t have done it if they’d known the pain it would cause: “It’s cost us a lot of money and it’s been hell. We used some savings we already had to pay for it.”

He added: “They look beautiful and in the photos they are perfect, but it’s like a nightmare.”

Despite trying to get help in the UK, women have had trouble finding a dentist who can help them.

“No dentist in the UK would dare treat them,” Jade said. “We have been at this for almost four months now. One of our friends had the surgery six months ago and she’s still in pain, so I think we’ll give her up to six months and probably try to travel back.”

“Our teeth look beautiful to look at, and people ask us all the time where we got them fixed because they want to do the same thing.”

“We always say no, don’t do it at all. We would never recommend it to anyone.”

_{Translation by Michelle Padilla}