A grandad 'can't stop grinning' after having every one of his cigarette-yellowed teeth pulled out and replaced with a sparkling new set of implants.
Paul Pilkington, 70, from North Wales, was so self-conscious about his rotting teeth that he refused to smile. So the grandad-of-18 jetted off to Turkey twice for a full set of £7,000 implants.
The retired entertainments manager, who smoked for 50 years before quitting, said: "I worked in entertainment all my life and was always self-conscious being in front of people every day. I never used to smile properly because I didn't want people to see my teeth. I also had some which were loose and it was painful to chew on them. But now I can't stop grinning and I don't have to worry about any of that any more.
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"The transformation changed everything. My confidence is through the roof now. People say it's taken 10 years off me - it was worth every penny and I wish I did it sooner." Paul, who lives in Aberystwyth, was motivated to make a change to his smile after wife Mandy Pilkington, 50, died in September 2020, from a heart attack. After 18 months of 'not wanting to do anything at all' he realised it wasn't what she would have wanted.
He said: "She would have been kicking me up the backside telling me to do something with my life if I wasn't happy." In November 2022, Paul visited a clinic in Istanbul, where he had all his teeth removed and a full set of top and bottom dental implants - artificial roots drilled into the bones of the mouth - put in.
Paul said: "I requested to have all my teeth removed. Three were loose, and four were damaged. Logic said rather than trying to match up what was already in my mouth, it was better just to remove the whole lot."
He was fitted with temporary dentures and sent home for his implants to embed securely into his mouth before the next step. He returned a few months later to have the implant crowns - the artificial 'teeth' - anchored into the implants. But he opted to return to a different clinic for the second part of the procedure after several of his implants failed and needed to be replaced on his return to Turkey.
In February this year, Paul flew back for part two - this time opting for a new clinic in Izmir.
Paul said: "I had the transformation done and this time they made sure they were an absolutely perfect fit with no pain. When I looked in the mirror and saw them, I just felt brilliant. The transformation was unbelievable - I couldn't believe it."
Since returning to the UK, he said he has been inundated with compliments from family and friends. Paul said: "A lot of my friends have told me it's taken ten years off me - or more! I agree they make me look a lot younger.
"You sometimes see these young people go abroad and get these bright white teeth done that look false. Mine look totally natural and exactly what I wanted.
"I know Mandy would have wanted me to do this too. You get so many horror stories of people getting their teeth done abroad but if you do your research it's totally fine. I have no regrets whatsoever - except not getting it done sooner."
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