I'm on benefits & borrowed £8.7k for Turkey teeth… now they're botched, cost £18k to fix & I'm gutted the NHS won't help

The Irish Sun

28-04-2025

AN UNEMPLOYED, benefits-claiming mother says her botched Turkey teeth have left her 'drowning' in £8,700 debt
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Marsha Thomas, 54, has suffered with endless mouth and throat infections and is sometimes unable to bite food after she spent £8,000 having seven implants and 26 crowns installed at a Turkish clinic in 2023.
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Marsha was lent money by a friend to her new smile
Credit: SUPPLIED
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Instead of a gorgeous smile, Marsha has been left with side effects
Credit: SUPPLIED
The mother-of-one recently got half this money - which she borrowed from a friend - back.
However, she claims it would cost around £18,000 to fix her teeth privately in the UK and so has 'no choice' but to return to Turkey.
This is because she says she is unable to get a dentist to do the work on the NHS near her home in Wrexham, north Wales.
Therefore, the former support worker - who has not worked for four and a half years because of anxiety, depression, stress and high blood pressure - said she's borrowed more money and is currently in £8,700 debt to the same male friend.
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Despite living off less than £400-a-month
'I've got to get my teeth done because they are getting worse and worse,' she said.
'I'll have to go back to Turkey because I won't be able to get them done in the UK.
'The NHS won't do it. My own (UK) dentist said they could check my mouth for infections.
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'But they will not touch my teeth. I went to see a hospital dentist who checked my mouth but wouldn't touch the crowns.
'They said I was getting infections because the crowns aren't fitted properly and they're letting food underneath them.'
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Shortly after returning to the UK, Marsha said several of the crowns became loose and her face and lips swelled up so much she could hardly breath at points.
Marsha - who also worked with ex-offenders through the Probation Service before she had to give up work - endured a long dispute with the dental clinic to get a refund. It recently paid her back £4,000.
But that hasn't resolved her issues with her teeth, which she claims are constantly getting worse.
The repeated infections lead to her needing two hospital trips as well as frequent trips to her GP.
Despite NHS dentists treating them with antibiotics, she is unable to sort the root cause of her problem - her teeth - without going private.
She has been told it will cost around £18,000 to fix them in the UK - prompting her to begin saving and borrowing money from friends to fund another trip to Turkey.
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Marsha's teeth were shaved down to have new veneers put on
Credit: SUPPLIED
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Marsha wanted a Hollywood smile on the cheap
Credit: SUPPLIED
What are the risks of getting surgery abroad?
IT'S important to do your research if you're thinking about having cosmetic surgery abroad.
It can cost less than in the UK, but you need to weigh up potential savings against the potential risks.
Safety standards in different countries may not be as high.
No surgery is risk-free. Complications can happen after surgery in the UK or abroad.
If you have complications after an operation in the UK, the surgeon is responsible for providing follow-up treatment.
Overseas clinics may not provide follow-up treatment, or they may not provide it to the same standard as in the UK.
Also, they may not have a healthcare professional in the UK you can visit if you have any problems.
Source: NHS
Marsha recently went to a clinic near Istanbul on the understanding it was going to cost her £3,640 to fix her teeth.
But when she arrived and a dentist examined her teeth, he told her they were so badly damaged that it could cost up to £15,000.
Despite the fruitless trip ending up costing her more than £200, Marsha still believes her only option is to return to Turkey if she is going to fix her teeth.
'I'm living on the breadline,' she said - explaining that if she didn't own her house outright then she would probably be homeless.
'I have to pay for water, gas and electric and my phone bill. I can't afford to pay all these bills and I'm trying to pay somebody back for borrowing me money.
'I'm trying to sort my teeth at the same time and the whole thing is making me depressed. When I have friends come out I just cry because it's so depressing.'