Woman’s Dream Smile Turns Nightmare After Botched Dental Surgery in Turkey

A mum learned the hard way that some bargains come at a steep price after flying from the UK to Turkey for dental work. Leanne Abeyance’s quest for a sparkling new smile turned into a harrowing ordeal, leaving her with a collapsed face and "excruciating pain" following dental implant complications in Turkey.

The 40-year-old decided to replace her 13-year-old veneers with implants and claims that the dentist suggested a sinus lift, bone grafts, eight implants on top, and seven on the bottom. Leanne, a DJ, had her teeth extracted, screws, and implants fitted before her flight back to the UK. Two days later, she received her temporary teeth, with plans to return to Turkey in five months for the permanent set.

However, weeks after the screws were implanted, Leanne said she began experiencing intense headaches and sinusitis. Panic set in when her face started to change shape. A trip to A&E resulted in antibiotics and a discouraging "nothing more we can do" verdict.

A private dentist’s scan revealed the shocking truth: two implants had pierced her nose. "I’m in the worst pain of my life, and I’m constantly at A&E," Leanne lamented. "I can’t even touch my face. It feels like broken glass being smashed in my face and smeared around. I’ve been in a flood of tears."

"My face has collapsed. I’ll never have a nice smile. At the minute, I don’t have any teeth in, just screws sticking out. The pain is worse than childbirth." Leanne had chosen to go abroad, enticed by the lower cost compared to the UK’s 40,000 price tag. The Turkish treatment was quoted at 8,000, but she only paid 3,000 upfront.

She recounted her experience: "When the first lot of injections went in and they started to remove my teeth, I could feel everything. I had about 25 injections in six hours. The sinus lift felt like they were hammering something up my nose. It was like a horror movie that I was fully awake for."

Despite the initial pain, Leanne was happy with her temporary smile when she left the clinic last May. But the agony intensified at the airport: "I had my denture cemented in and I couldn’t have been happier, in pain but still smiling. In the airport, my face started to hurt so much I was literally buying cups of ice and putting them on my face. My face was black and blue like I’d been in a huge fight."

Back in the UK, optimism faded as severe headaches, phantom toothaches, and sinus problems emerged. "I was constantly in and out of the doctors and given antibiotics, but nothing was clearing it. I got hospitalized overnight on an IV feed. A few weeks back, I was in the worst pain of my life going back and forth to A&E where they couldn’t do anything."

A private dentist, Dr. Aurie and AJ at Droitwich Dental Studio, diagnosed the problem with a 4D scan: one implant pierced through her sinuses, and the other was lodged in her nose.

Now, the mum-of-two is fundraising for private treatment to remove and refit the implants, a procedure estimated at 45,000. "The pain I’m in is excruciating. It’s not as easy as walking in, walking out with the perfect smile like celebrities say," Leanne said. "There’s no such thing as the perfect white smile. I’m not asking for sympathy or anything for free. Now it’s a waiting game."

"My dentist in Droitwich has been great, and I’ll be using them again in the future. I’m ready to have them all cut out and have horrible dentures, but hopefully it will stop the pain I’m in. I can’t work, my face swells up, I get bad headaches, nose bleeds, mood swings, and my mental health is through the roof. I’ve lost two stone in weight, and I feel like I’m failing as a mother to my two beautiful daughters."

"I don’t want to be seen in public. My mental health is severely suffering; I can’t DJ, I can’t be my happy, lively self and can’t even do a caravan holiday with the kids. It’s been the worst year of my life. I just want it to be over."