A couple who flew to Turkey to have €4k cosmetic veneers fitted to their teeth say it "ruined their lives" - and left unable to eat or drink.
Jade Tushingham, 32, and her partner Kelly Tushingham, 30, went to Turkey, in September 2022 and planned to have a beach holiday while improving their smiles.
The couple say they were lured by cheaper dental prices for the procedure that involves shaving down your teeth before fitting the new set of veneers over the top of them.
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The day after touching down in Turkey, the couple headed to a private clinic near their hotel for the first stage of their transformation. There, they had X-rays and were given a dose of local anaesthetic as dentists filed down their teeth.
Straight after the first part of their procedure, the couple revealed that they were in "instant" pain.
They 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'' left them in agony.
They said the temporary veneers, which they had to keep in all the time, were akin to "horse teeth,” which left them unable to eat or drink.
They had to survive on mashed potatoes and soup and said even water was hard to swallow due to their majorly sensitive teeth.
On the sixth day, the 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 described the procedure as “a blood bath''.
Jade, from Chester, Cheshire, 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 percent 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.''
She went on to say: "My bottom set were a little crooked, but neither of us really needed them doing. It costs around £20,000 (€22,780) 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 said they were ''on edge''. Jade explained: "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 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 veneer fitting.
"I asked to be numbed because I was already in so much pain. 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 paid €4,836 altogether for both sets of permanent veneers and said they 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 done. We always say no, and absolutely do not have them done.
"We would never recommend them to anyone."
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