A couple say their £4,000 'Turkey teeth' left them in agony and barely able to eat or drink. Jade Tushingham, 32, and her partner Kelly Tushingham, 30, flew to Antalya, in September 2022 to have veneers fitted - but said the decision has 'ruined (their) lives'.
They planned to combine a beach holiday with an overhaul of their smiles after being lured by cheaper dental prices. The procedure involved shaving down their teeth before fitting the new set of veneers over the top of them.
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The day after arrival, the couple visited a private clinic near their hotel for the first stage of their transformation. After having X-rays they were given a dose of local anaesthetic as dentists filed down their gnashers, causing them both 'instant' pain.
The couple, from Chester, then had to wait in the clinic's reception for around five hours with their 'shark teeth' before dentists fitted them each with temporary veneers. The pair were then left waiting for a permanent set for over five days while their teeth 'stubs' caused them agony.
The temporary veneers, which they had to keep in all the time, were said to have been fitted badly and were akin to 'horse teeth'. Neither could eat or drink and they were left to survive on mash potatoes and soup - even water was hard to swallow due to their hugely sensitive teeth.
On the sixth day, the loved-up pair - who both quit their jobs in the summer of 2022 to go travelling - were finally called back to have their crowns fitted but both describe the procedure as being 'like a blood bath'. Jade and Kelly, who are both still in daily pain, are now beginning to consider revisiting the clinic to demand their teeth are fixed.
Jade, from Chester, said: "Lots of our friends had already had it done and told us that it didn't hurt. I've always wanted it done, even though my teeth before were actually OK.
"But even now, we're both still in constant pain. "All the food at the hotel looked beautiful, but we just couldn't eat any of it.
"We survived on mashed potatoes and soup, even drinking was difficult as our teeth were so sensitive. Looking back now, we 100 per cent would not have had it done.
''It's cost us so much money and it's been hell. We used some savings we already had to pay for it doing. They look lovely, and in pictures are perfect but it's like a nightmare.''
In November 2021, both Kelly and Jade decided to book an all-inclusive break in Turkey during which they planned to get a set of veneers fitted each. "We both had alright teeth beforehand," Jade said.
"My bottom set were a little crooked, but neither of us really needed them doing. It costs around £20,000 per person to have the procedure done in the UK.
"We were terrified on the day of the procedure, I'm so scared of needles as it is."
After arriving for their procedures, on September 24, 2022, they became 'on edge' as the clinic seemed 'unprofessional'. Jade said: "Before having the actual veneers fitted we had to have all of our teeth filed down dramatically and have our temporary sets done.
''It was scary seeing our teeth filled down to almost nothing and it was really painful. On top of that it was a long process that day, from around 9am to 6pm.
''We were a bit on edge and exhausted. After all our teeth were gone they fitted the temporary veneers but I was already scared.
"My dad even once told me I needed an Oscar for going for a blood test. We were in separate rooms and I was crying in pain straight away.
"I remember Kelly came into my room when she'd had hers done and said 'this is awful.' Then they just sent us away with Naproxen which is an anti-inflammatory, and medicated mouthwash to use in the meantime."
The couple, who have been back in the UK for just four months, then waited five days before their veneers were ready to be fitted- during which time they struggled to eat or drink due to the pain.
On September 29, 2022, Jade and Kelly nervously returned to the clinic. "The process was horrible, there was just blood everywhere," Jade added.
"I was told by the dentist that I wouldn't need to be numbed for the actual veneers fitting. I asked to be numbed because I was already in so much pain.
"The dentist was quite narky, and said 'I'm going to have to numb you then'. We both ended up having numbing.
"I think they were just sick of us, because some people just sit there and have it done, but we all have different pain thresholds."
At the end of the process, Jade had 25 new teeth fitted, with Kelly having 24. Leaving Turkey a week later, the couple, who paid £4,240 altogether for both sets of permanent veneers, were still in severe pain.
"We messaged the dentist on Instagram about it when we got back," Jade said. "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.
"We had already been taking Ibuprofen anyway and it didn't make a difference, so we didn't know what to do. Nothing seemed to take the pain away.
"Eating a hot meal followed by a cold drink is just awful. We can't even have a cup of tea because our teeth are so sensitive.
"Everywhere we go we have painkillers. In the car, in my bag, at the side of the bed.
"We definitely can't sleep because we just wake up in the night needing more painkillers. Sometimes I'll say to Kelly 'what do you fancy for tea?'
"And then say 'oh no we can't have that because my teeth are hurting a lot today'." Despite trying to get help back in the UK the girls have struggled to find a dentist who can help.
"No dentists in the UK would even touch them," Jade said. "We're almost four months into this now.
"One of our friends is six months post-surgery and she is also still in pain, so I think we'll give it until six months and probably look to fly back out there. Our teeth visually do look lovely, and we have people asking us all the time where we had them done because they want theirs doing.
"We always say no, absolutely do not have them done. We would never recommend them to anyone."
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