Dental Tourism. What is safe? Choose your Destination Wisely.
Dr Sheraz Aleem- Celebrity and leading Cosmetic Dentist warns people to stop letting dentists shave and damage their teeth!
Dental Tourism
Dental Tourism has become widely popular in recent years, with many people jetting off to destinations like Turkey and Eastern Europe to have their veneers placed. You would be surprised to know that equally so, a lot of people travel to London to have their teeth done. About 30%-40% of our patients specifically come to see us from literally all over the world. Europe, Asia, Africa, The Persian Gulf, America. We still have expats who live as far as Australia who manage their home visits in such a way so they can come and see us too. Why do we mention this? Simply because Turkey, the so called most popular destination for many people to do their teeth is truly not the most popular. Let us explain you why.
Why do dentist shave teeth in the first place since it is not good?
A very fair question, one should ask. Most people are simply unaware that new practices exist, much more developed and quite 21st century. Practices whereby the teeth do not require any cutting whatsoever. Without this knowledge, people are rarely being given the opportunity to evaluate if they want their teeth to be cut or not. In fact, how often does this happen really? You sit down in the dental chair and you do pay for a service, however much that is, but you pay, right? You, therefore expect the utmost best. Well, the truth is you barely get it. The most unfortunate is that the consequences of this don’t bother the dentist, but will bother you. You splashed however much on your dream smile, and you end up with a significant damage that will cause a lot of long-term complications and quite frankly expenses. In this line, the fact that this topic was only recently uncovered and people are only recently made aware that they have a safe, completely non-invasive way to have veneers, confirms how easy it is to end up having your teeth shaved without you even really knowing. Believe us, we have seen it.
This begs the question, alright but you have been doing non-cutting veneers for well over 17 years, why do I not know about it? Believe us, if we can, we would let every single person know. We do our best to have informative channels that people have access to. However, in the pool of thousands of local and overseas dentists, one cannot fight the power of marketing. It is really quite frustrating from our standpoint that we have to see patients post, let’s call them ”Turkey Teeth” and there is no come back. We cannot build the natural tooth- yes, we will do the best aesthetic results possible, yet there is not come back. Unfortunately, we have seen a fair amount of patients, quite literally in tears. Think about, it costs you so much more and we are not talking financials only….
Let’s be specific
Dentist shave teeth down for a few main reasons: Experience, Ceramist, Profits. To be able to offer patients lower price points, some of which indeed ridiculously low, you have to have a very high turnaround of patients. Yes, you become more or less a number… To do that, they cannot spend that long on your teeth, especially the ceramists- No way. Would the materials be of the highest quality or equipment? Well, you can answer that question yourself. Of course not. Even if the clinic looks shiny and clean. The problem is as a patient, it should be your right to simply trust your clinician and get the best possible outcome.
Let’s dig deeper. To provide patients with a natural look that truly resembles natural teeth, also functions like natural teeth, one has to spend sufficient time. The planning itself takes a while. In our practice, every case is approached individually. People may have similar concerns, but no teeth are the same. On top, the ceramic work- wow. Literally wow, our master ceramist layers every single layer of the tooth(by hand) to achieve the most natural results, including translucency, texture, colour, shape, size and still be able to make them sturdy, yet pretty thin. You cannot do that when you are pressed by time and your business will simply not make it if you were to invest in such sophisticated process. That is why teeth are shaved, the attention to detail is not the same, it is not feasible. Our ceramist takes anything from 4-6 hours per ONE, yes you read correctly ONE Veneer. For us it is art, for us it is the feeling that we bring to the patient and the feeling we experience when we achieve the desired results.
The direction of dental tourism is changing
Dental tourism became popular and will only grow, that is for sure. But one thing is also certain that the direction is not only to South East Europe. People are coming to London, and our clinic is a prime example of that.
It is important for patients to know that shaving teeth causes tremendous complications. Quite possibly future root canals, loss of teeth and so on and so on.
Let’s be honest, if you want to have nice nails, do you take your nail off almost completely, and then you stick a new on on? We don’t think so. Besides, nails normally grow back- teeth don’t!
Veneers by Dr Aleem
Turkey Teeth
What is non-cutting veneers?
Quite literally it involves zero cutting. YOU DO NOT NEED to cut your teeth to get the results you are after. There is an article and a few videos we did as to how our veneers differ. Let us just add that our veneers are reversible because there is no damage to the natural teeth. Well, we have never reversed back to the natural teeth, because we believe we provide the highest quality ceramic work, and most importantly patients are very pleased with the outcomes. How do you compare a master ceramist who is accredited by the highest institution of Cosmetic Dentistry, and he is only one of 37 master ceramists in the world, an artist who has been making veneers for 30 years to a simple, low quality and low cost block of ceramic that is made by a machine. You cannot compare them.
Piano keys teeth are simply not doing you justice
Aesthetics- At the end, the prime reason why people have veneers is the aesthetics. Who does not want to have a beautiful smile. But are you aware that you probably have a very beautiful smile already, and you simply need the right design for you to enhance it. What is a better compliment, let’s ask you that: Your smile looks stunning. Compared to: you had your teeth done. Well- I think we all agree the former is preferrable.
When it comes to aesthetics, it requires time. Often in smile design it is going back and forth. At our clinic, we take as long as required until the patient is satisfied. It is a design for a reason, it does not happen overnight and that is why it is quite exclusive. Piano keys in one universal solid colour, big and bulky are no good. They are not doing people justice. Just look down at your fingers, are they the same size? Look outside, the branches of the tree, are they the same size? – The answer is no. Because the best veneers must look natural, not like piano keys.
Aesthetics are important, but function is even more important. Imagine, wearing uncomfortable clothes all day, all night, 24/7. – Not good, is it? Smile Design does not involve simply improving the appearance of your teeth, it involves a lot more than that. We factor in the bite, we can improve the bite, you have to use these teeth, not just have them as a souvenir. There is so much more that goes behind the design.
Veneers by Dr Aleem
Turkey Teeth
Think of it as investment, because it truly is
Long-term guarantee. To be fair to everyone in the industry, the patient also plays are role in that. However, the veneers we had to fix from abroad and mind you NOT ONLY from abroad, don’t really last. It often turns to be more costly than initially anticipated. Yes, a lot of people may already think, this is so easy for you to say, your veneers are expensive. They are indeed, not the most expensive, but hey this is a long-term investment. Most of the veneers can easily last 20/25 years+. If you do the maths, 10 veneers at the current rate work out to £40pm. Besides, with the financial options available, our veneers are quite affordable for many people.
The best investment is an investment in your own self, it is about how you are feeling not simply what you are having. Besides, a really good investment is one that you can actually use. Teeth, your smile is truly a great investment in your quality of life.
Choose your next destination carefully
It is quite interesting to note that we don’t simply do non-cutting veneers. We are the only ones here in the UK and Europe and a few other continents who offer this type of veneers. Hand-made feldspathic veneers. The reason being, our ceramist works with Beverly Hills dentists and exclusively with us overseas.
Please be aware, that unfortunately even in the UK, we have seen severely shaved teeth. Please ask you dentist if they will shave your teeth and ask why. See their cases, but look carefully, there is no point in looking at photoshopped images. Look at videos, hopefully these won’t be manipulated either. Don’t let dentists shave your teeth, minimal prep might be required in very few cases, but it has to so minimal on the enamel of your teeth that you would not notice, you would not require any numbing, whatsoever. It is better to seek advice. You may spend a bit more on a few consultations in order for you to compare and find the clinician you feel most comfortable with. Better spend the significantly less funds on a few consultations, than having your teeth shaved and then having to redo them again.
We do take pride in the fact that we have transformed many smiles, and people travel all over the world to see us. We see many celebrities, fortune 500 CEOs, Royal Families, yet for us everyone is equal. One should be confident in what they do and rightly so, a confident dentist with extensive experience is what you need. You do not want to be tested on and definitely not just a number. Choose your next destination wisely.