Comparison of UK and Turkey in terms of quality in Dentistry

The subject of “Comparison of UK and Turkey in terms of quality in Dentistry” is very questionable. So this will be a long post. In recent days, some press organs in England have published some unfounded news that defame dentists in our country by losing their impartiality and independence as in many parts of the world. Of course, there may be some truth in these news. A number of professional organizations in England may also have had an influence on the publication of these news. In this article, as we will respond to these news, we will also sink the bag to dentists and health institutions in our country. We will also raise awareness of patients who come to our country for health tourism from many countries, especially England.

First of all, let’s say that bad apples can happen in every country and in every profession. Similar news can be published for physicians in the UK. But entering into such arguments will not benefit any physician and harm the patients as well. So, of course, we will not talk about the problems that patients coming to our country have with their doctors in their own countries, as in this article, we will not talk about it anywhere on our blog. It is never a right approach for a physician to denigrate another physician. I just thought of the wall paints I had made. I painted all the walls white. One day a mason came and said “it’s bad” for this wall paint. 🙂 Of course, the mason who made such a statement destroyed his self-confidence. It reaffirmed my trust in the other mason. Because he had never vilified a mason for love. It just did its job. We physicians are like that. We just do our own thing. That is what is true. Otherwise, after a while, even very well-done works will be discredited and only a ridiculous situation will emerge.

Of course, we physicians are not God, even though we seem to be doing a holy profession. It may not always be what we say “be”. Sometimes, the expectations of patients may be far above the limits drawn by their mouth, teeth, jaw and similar structures. These expectations may not be met. There is also a thing called complication in the medical profession. Although we as physicians pay attention, we cannot prevent these complications. After all, people are not made in a factory. Every person’s build is different. The fact that the treatment was carried out in England or Turkey in these respects will not change the result.

In recent years, unfortunately, a number of health institutions have been opened by non-physician individuals and institutions in our country. The problems that people experience are also partly due to this. Because in these places, people who are not physicians can unfortunately intervene in patients.

Below, we will list the things that patients should pay attention to in these matters;

First of all, T.C. The Ministry of Health authorizes the places that can do Health Tourism with “INTERNATIONAL HEALTH TOURISM AUTHORIZATION CERTIFICATE”. You can see our international HEALTH TOURISM AUTHORIZATION CERTIFICATE from the link below.

If your doctor is someone who can practice dentistry in our country, you can see your doctor’s picture as below by typing your name and surname on the link of the Turkish Dental Association, https://tdb.org.tr/dishekimi_arama.php . The following information is the information of some of our doctors working in our clinic. You can find the same information for all our other physicians at the relevant link.

ERDEM   AZİM
Telefon	+90(216)6226667
İl	İSTANBUL
İlçe	SANCAKTEPE

NİSA BETÜL   KARA
Telefon	+90(216)6226667
İl	İSTANBUL
İlçe	SANCAKTEPE

In this respect, patients should pay attention to whether the health institutions they will go to are licensed by the Ministry of Health. Whether our Oral and Dental Health Polyclinic licensed in Istanbul is registered, T.C. You can see the link of the Ministry of Health at https://www.istanbulsaglik.gov.tr/w/kurumlar/birim.asp?bd=577493&lc=&kk=88 .

In addition, it is important for those who will intervene in them to check whether they have graduated from a university in Turkey or not. Our country has been receiving a lot of immigration in recent years, among which there may be people whom we do not know in which schools they are educated. When you go to the clinic, check your doctor’s diploma and work certificate. If he has not graduated from Turkish universities, but he is successful in the Diploma equivalence exam and see if he has received diploma equivalence by YÖK.

There is also the issue of treatment costs. If you are coming from abroad, a few reminders about the price;

First of all, while the Turkish Lira was valuable, patients were coming to our country from abroad. Because they were satisfied with Turkish doctors. In fact, they were paying more than they paid in their own country. Because almost all of the materials we use are produced in those countries, and when these materials come to our country, these costs were higher for us due to both transportation costs, profit margins of companies that will sell these materials to us in our country, and extra taxes.

Yes, since the Turkish Lira has lost value, Health Services in our country are now much cheaper than abroad. But in the end, the material costs are still much more than the cost of a doctor there. Only labor is much cheaper.

When the cost is calculated, we can consider the cost analysis of the Ministry of Health, which is a non-profit and reduces these costs to a minimum because it buys materials maybe 10 thousand, maybe 100 thousand times more than us. After all, our ministry has a price tariff that it applies without profit. You can find that schedule at this link .

Lets continue. The Turkish Dental Association also performs a cost analysis and calculates how much a physician can work in his practice, at least how much it costs, and then pay and pay the expenses of his practice and manage his life with the remaining part. You can find some statistical data on this in our blog post titled TDB 2023 ORAL DENTAL HEALTH EXAMINATION AND TREATMENT FEE SCHEDULE IS DETERMINED .  In addition, Istanbul is a much more expensive city compared to other provinces and the costs can be much higher in Istanbul. In this context, we recommend that you review the prices written in the DRAFT TARIFF prepared by the Istanbul Chamber of Dentists, from the link below. https://www.ido.org.tr/userfiles/files/rehber_tarife_taslagi.pdf Of course, all these calculations are for physicians working alone in their practice. As the business grows (for example, for polyclinics where more than one doctor works like us), the costs can increase much more. Because in such outpatient clinics, some special devices etc. may be required. In addition, after paying the physicians, a profit must be made in order for the clinic to continue to improve itself.

You can reach the prices of our clinic from the following link and compare the dental treatment prices between England and Turkey;

So you should never expect that it will be 1/20 or 1/30 cheaper than your country of origin. Of course, due to the value of the Turkish Lira, it will be much cheaper and you will make quite a profit. You will also find the opportunity to have a holiday in our country. Despite your holiday, all your expenses will be much cheaper. That’s also true. But remember this, you can’t have something done for 1 lira here, which is 30 liras in your country. If you are doing business with such an exaggeratedly cheap figure, you may be one of the news that I mentioned at the beginning of the subject, and in this case, you will have justified those who made that biased news.

Also, if you see an advertisement on social media that “we do all your teeth in 5 days, no matter what condition your teeth are in, it’s cheaper than water”, you should definitely stay away from it. For the simplest example, even if a tooth is extracted, it will not heal in such a short time. Likewise, in a root canal treatment with a periapical lesion, the periapical lesion in your tooth does not heal in that long. If even God does not allow this, if you believe in an advertisement that says “we do all your teeth in 5 days, no matter what condition your teeth are in, for less than water”, of course you will suffer the consequences and become a part of the biased news in England. Again, in this context, some procedures are rehearsed. Considering these rehearsals, even the simplest work takes at least 7 days to complete. Of course, these times are much longer in special transactions. In fact, sometimes the work done is not deemed appropriate by our doctors before it is put in your mouth, and it can even be done from the beginning. Of course, in this case, it may take a little longer. In other words, there is never a situation where everything ends in your mouth in 5 days. Before you come, you should contact the clinic you will go to and ask for the maximum and minimum periods (between 7 and 14 days, but on average 10 days).

And of course, if someone offers you a guarantee about your health, such as a “lifetime” warranty, etc., ask him what kind of contract he signed with God about your health and ask for a sample of the contract between him and God. Of course, since such places are generally unlicensed and operated by fake dentists, under the stairs where uncertain materials are used, you will probably never find it after 1-2 years.

In addition, some of the intermediary institutions that advertise on the internet and social media may be places that have nothing to do with dentistry in reality. On the other hand, some intermediary institutions pay dentists much less than they should be (For example, they can charge you 5,000 TL for zirconium and have the dental clinic do it for 2,000 TL). This may inevitably lead to a decrease in quality. Because, instead of using materials worth 2 thousand liras, 500 liras of materials will be used, instead of employing a 1000-lira laboratory, a 200-lira laboratory will be employed. If the doctor who does the work is entitled to a thousand liras, 500 liras will be paid. The doctor will be unhappy and will have to work 5 times harder to earn the same money. In addition, he will have to do the work that needs to be done in 1 hour in 10 minutes. To avoid trouble, you should stay away from unauthorized places.