A woman faced with taking out a second mortgage to have dental surgery in the UK has flown to Turkey instead of stumping up £19,000 to have the operation in England.
Angry Sally Murphy, 58, says she was removed as an NHS patient from her old dentist during the pandemic.
After struggling to find another practice, she looked into going private and was lost for words after being given the eye-watering quote.
Jetting out to Antalya to have the work done will cost Sally around a quarter of what some UK dentists will charge - and that includes her flights and accommodation.
Sally, from the Wirral, Merseyside, told the Liverpool Echo the thought of having the operation overseas fills her with dread but she has been left with little choice because she can't afford to go private.
The prison chaplain said: “Do you know what? I still don’t feel confident. I am going today and I am actually terrified.
“I am really self conscious about my teeth. My self confidence is zero at the moment because I can do nothing about getting it fixed unless I get a second mortgage out.
“For the trip, I am going to make a tooth out of putty as I currently look like Nanny McPhee.”
Dental operations in Turkey have gained popularity in the UK, nicknamed “turkey teeth” but some people have suffered serious complications as a result according to a BBC investigation
Mrs Murphy had a dental bridge put in through the NHS when she was 22 after her teeth were knocked out, but during Covid, the enamel began to fall out.
She said she tried to contact her old dentist throughout the pandemic and when she eventually got through, she said she was told she couldn’t reregister.
Mrs Murphy flew out on Wednesday and hopes to have the operation done by Friday and plans to document the procedure.
A British Dental Association spokesperson called it “a national disgrace” that patients were going abroad to receive treatment and said NHS dentistry has become “a postcode lottery.”
During the leadership election, Prime Minister Liz Truss said that dentistry would be one of her top priorities.
Many Wirral residents said they were also struggling to get dental treatment with some saying they had been waiting months. Some said this has meant they’ve had to go private but that comes with a cost.
Others said they had only been able to be treated in A&E or trying to fix their teeth at home.
A British Dental Association spokesperson said: “It’s shameful - and a national disgrace - that the provision of NHS dentistry has become such a postcode lottery, that some people are being forced to go abroad to access affordable treatment they desperately need, or even resorting to DIY dentistry.
“This is the reality for patients who are at the sharp end of a decade of savage cuts to the dental budget. Successive governments have failed to tackle the NHS dental crisis – only funding care for around half the population. The BDA estimates it would take an extra £880m a year simply to restore resources to 2010 levels.”
A spokesperson for the NHS in the North West said: “The COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on the North West region, has inevitably led to a disruption in routine dental care with NHS dentists having to focus on providing care for those with an urgent dental need.
“It is important to note that anyone who is in dental pain or in urgent need of support, help or advice, can telephone their own dental practice in the usual way.
"If they don’t have a usual dentist and have an urgent need they can contact the dental helpline on 0161 476 9651.”
“The NHS recently announced the first reforms to dentistry services since 2006 which will support practices to improve access including by giving high performing practices the opportunity to increase their activity and treat more patients – discussions around further changes that benefit patients and staff are ongoing.”
