Title: Turkey Teeth Gone Wrong: 5 Routes to a Refund or a Fix
Author: Arthur Harmash
Published: 2026-09-30
Source: https://lymyvoyage.com/articles/turkey-teeth-gone-wrong-refund
Citations:
- https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4799026.pdf
- https://dentistry.co.uk/2022/07/14/dental-tourism-nine-in-10-dentists-have-treated-patients-who-travelled-abroad-for-treatment/
- https://www.drbicuspid.com/dental-specialties/smile-design/restorations/article/15379699/uk-dentists-left-to-fix-dental-tourism-gone-wrong
- https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/
- https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4749818.pdf
- https://www.capitalone.co.uk/support/section-75
- https://www.visa.co.uk/how-you-pay-matters/chargeback-purchase-disputes.html
- https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4348159.pdf
- https://afyon.ticaret.gov.tr/duyurular/tuketici-hakem-heyeti-basvurularinda-2026-yili-parasal-degerleri-yeniden-belirlendi
- https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/kurlar/today.xml
- https://ticaret.gov.tr/tuketici/tuketici-hakem-heyetleri/tuketici-hakem-heyetlerine-iliskin-bilgilendirme-metni
- https://www.tekcan.av.tr/dis-estetigi-ve-dis-protezinde-hekim-hatalari/
- https://www.gecmezhukuk.com/estetik-ve-dis-ameliyatlarinda-malpraktis-hakkinda-sikca-sorulan-sorular/
- https://www.smiledentalturkey.com/our-no-worries-treatment-warranties/
- https://medicistanbul.net/guarantee/
- https://www.badn.org.uk/NewPublic/News/Clinical-Policy-for-NHS-Care-After-Self-Funded-Dental-Treatment.aspx
- https://www.dta-uk.org/news/avoidance-of-doubt-clinical-policy-for-self-funded-dental-treatment-requiring-nhs-intervention
- https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/04/20250426-2.htm
- https://www.hanyaloglu-acar.av.tr/malpraktis-tazminat/komplikasyon-sigortasi-danistay-karari
- https://www.uste.org.tr/danistaydan-saglik-turizminde-komplikasyon-sigortasi-karari-zorunlulugun-onundeki-yurutmeyi-durdurma-karari-kaldirildi/
- https://www.gdc-uk.org/standards-guidance/information-for-patients-public/going-abroad-for-dental-treatment
---
In late 2022 a British patient paid an Istanbul clinic about £8,500 for implant work. She split the bill between a debit card, a credit card and cash. The result went badly: a misaligned bite, ongoing pain, and some new teeth breaking up on the flight home.[^1]
Her credit card company refunded everything she had paid on it, while her bank refunded nothing on the debit card. Nothing differed except the card. The Financial Ombudsman Service, which later ruled on the debit card, set out why in writing.[^1] That case is a useful map of what a UK patient can actually recover when Turkey teeth go wrong, and of the evidence each route demands.
One Istanbul dental bill, paid on two cards. The credit card refunded its share. The debit card refunded nothing. Does how you pay decide what you get back?
Clinics sell guarantees, and card protection sounds automatic. But the guarantee is written by the seller, and card protection comes with deadlines and evidence tests most buyers never read.
Pay even part of the bill on a credit card, and the card company can be liable for the whole of it. That is Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. It works abroad, and in England and Wales you have six years.
A debit card only has chargeback. That is a card-scheme rule, not a legal right, and you usually have 120 days. In the Istanbul case the clinic contested it twice, and the bank stopped.
The card is not the hardest part. In two ombudsman cases about treatment abroad, refunds failed because the patient could not prove what was agreed, or that the work fell below a reasonable standard.
Other routes exist whatever card you used. Turkey's consumer boards hear claims under 186,000 lira, and NHS dentists can stabilise pain or infection. Both are narrow: about £2,850, and stabilising is not rebuilding.
What this cannot show: how often any route succeeds. We found no published success rate for any of them. These are a handful of decided cases, not a sample.
How you pay decides which routes open. What you can prove decides whether they pay. Put part of the bill on a credit card, and get the treatment plan in writing, tooth by tooth.
## Five routes, side by side
The stake is not small. In a 2022 British Dental Association (BDA) survey of 1,000 UK dentists, two-thirds said repairing work done abroad cost patients at least £500.[^2] One in five had seen repair bills above £5,000. DrBicuspid's independent write-up of the same survey reports the same three cost bands.[^3] The survey asked dentists what they had seen, not patients what they paid.
| Route | Who it binds | Limit | Deadline | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 75 claim | Your credit card company | Item priced £100.01 to £30,000 | Six years (England and Wales), five (Scotland) | You must prove breach of contract or misrepresentation |
| Chargeback | Your card company, under card-scheme rules | The card payment only | Usually 120 days from purchase | Not a legal right; the clinic can contest it |
| Turkish consumer arbitration board | The clinic, in Turkey | Claims under 186,000 lira (about £2,850) in 2026 | Board decides within 6 months, extendable by 3 | Filed with the board where the clinic is |
| Clinic's own guarantee | The clinic | Its own terms | 1 year to lifetime in the two reviewed | Both reviewed are void if another dentist treats the work |
| NHS dentist | NHS England | Stabilisation and acute problems | None | The published summary covers stabilisation only |
The rows are not alternatives. A patient can run several at once, and the deadlines decide the order.
## Section 75 covers the whole bill, if a credit card paid any of it
Section 75 makes a credit card company liable when the supplier breaches the contract or misrepresents what it is selling. MoneySavingExpert's guide says you are covered for the full amount even if you pay only 1p of it on the card.[^4]
The ombudsman said the same thing in the Istanbul case. It noted that Section 75 "can also cover amounts paid via other means, such as bank transfers or amounts paid on other cards."[^1]
That is a large difference. In that case, the patient's credit card issuer refunded £4,570.05, the part paid on its card.[^1] The ombudsman suggested she could go back and claim the rest from the same issuer.
The price rules are corroborated three ways. The item must cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000, according to MoneySavingExpert, the ombudsman and Capital One's own customer guide.[^4][^5][^6] The time limit is six years in England and Wales and five in Scotland, according to MoneySavingExpert. Capital One puts it at "usually" six years from the transaction.[^4][^6]
It works for purchases abroad. MoneySavingExpert lists paying "directly to the seller... abroad" as covered.[^4] In the Turkish crown case below, the ombudsman found both Section 75 conditions met.[^5]
Two things break it. A debit card is not covered at all.[^6] And MoneySavingExpert says paying through PayPal while logged in to a PayPal account removes the protection, though PayPal guest checkout keeps it.[^4]
## Chargeback: 120 days, and the clinic argues back
A debit card has no Section 75. What it has is chargeback, a dispute process run by the card schemes.
Visa is blunt about its status. "Chargeback is not legal right, and a refund is not guaranteed," its UK page says. You usually have up to 120 days after the purchase. You must contact the seller first, and you "cannot start a chargeback claim" until you have.[^7] MoneySavingExpert gives the same 120-day window for Visa, Mastercard and American Express.[^4]
The Istanbul case shows how a chargeback plays out against a clinic that fights. The bank raised it under Visa's "Not as Described or Defective" reason, and the clinic contested it.[^1] When the bank escalated, the clinic contested again, this time sending before-and-after photos, receipts, invoices and hotel bills. The bank then stopped before Visa's final arbitration stage.
The ombudsman did not blame it for stopping. Visa's rules barred the patient's later UK dental report from arbitration, because new evidence cannot be added at that stage.[^1] The ombudsman also thought the clinic's continued offers to redo the work might have weighed in its favour. The bank paid £150 in total for giving her wrong deadlines, and nothing towards the £2,789.
In one 2024 ombudsman case, a patient paid the same Istanbul clinic on two cards: the credit card refunded £4,570.05 under Section 75, and the debit card's chargeback recovered nothing.[^1]
## Why claims fail: the paperwork, not the card
Qualifying for Section 75 is the easy part. Two ombudsman decisions about treatment abroad show where claims actually stall.
In the first, a patient paid a Turkish clinic £2,655.66 for a package including 28 zirconium crowns.[^5] He expected 28 individual crowns and got a mix of single crowns, joined crowns and bridges. A UK practice reported that the design raised his risk of gum disease. Its dentist told the bank that style of work was common in the 1960s and 1970s.
It was not enough. The invoice listed 28 lines reading "Zirkonyum" and a 20-year warranty. It did not say whether the crowns would be separate.[^5] Neither UK dentist said whether the work fell below reasonable care and skill. The ombudsman said Turkish dental standards would likely set that bar, and nobody supplied evidence of them. The claim failed.
The second patient paid £3,951.42 by credit card for dental work the ombudsman thought was done abroad.[^8] She supplied a handwritten note pricing two replacement implants at £1,600. She did not supply a contract, a breakdown, or a report showing the work was faulty. Nationwide declined, and the ombudsman agreed.
Two more details from the first case matter. His regular UK dentist declined to treat him further because he had had "Turkey Teeth." And the ombudsman cannot award compensation for "loss of amenity," such as difficulty eating.[^5]
## Turkey's consumer boards: small claims, filed in Turkey
Turkey has a no-court route for small consumer disputes. From 1 January 2026, claims under 186,000 Turkish lira go to a provincial or district consumer arbitration board, according to the Trade Ministry.[^9] That limit rose 25.49% from 149,000 lira. Above it, the consumer court decides.
At the Turkish central bank's rate on 30 September 2026, 186,000 lira is about £2,850.[^10] In 2024 the ombudsman did its own rough price check on Turkish crown packages, and found an average of £3,000 to £4,000.[^5] So a package of that size may already exceed the board's limit, which sends the claim to the consumer court instead.
Can a patient in the UK use it? The ministry's guidance accepts applications in person or by post, and a lawyer can file for you.[^11] There is also an online route through e-Devlet, Turkey's government portal. Non-citizens give a passport or foreign identity number.
Where you file matters. The competent board is the one where the consumer lives or where the transaction took place. For a UK resident, that means the board where the clinic is. The guidance does not say whether someone with no Turkish residence can use the online portal.
Board decisions bind both sides, the ministry says. Either can object to the consumer court within two weeks.[^11] The board must decide within six months, extendable by three.
Whether a dental clinic counts as a consumer supplier is not stated on the ministry's page. Two Turkish law firms say it does. Tekcan Law Office says dental aesthetic and prosthetic work at a private clinic falls under consumer law.[^12] It cites a Court of Cassation decision treating such work as a contract to deliver a result. Geçmez Law says dental treatment is "mostly" a consumer transaction.[^13]
## The clinic's guarantee means a trip back
A clinic guarantee is the only route that promises a repair rather than a refund. Its terms are the clinic's own, and the two published guarantees reviewed here show how much they vary.
Smile Dental Turkey's warranty covers one return visit within 365 days. It pays up to 200 pounds, euros or dollars toward flights, plus up to six nights in a hotel.[^14] Medic Istanbul guarantees crowns and bridges for five years and implants for ten. It states that "flight costs, accommodation and other accommodation costs are the responsibility of the patient."[^15]
The conditions matter more than the length. Both void the guarantee if another practice treats the work. Smile Dental Turkey says "without our prior authorisation." Medic Istanbul lists "treatment at another facility."[^14][^15] Both also require yearly check-ups or cleanings.
That creates a trap. A patient in pain who sees a UK dentist first may void the guarantee that was the clinic's main promise.
## The NHS will stabilise, not rebuild
NHS England's Office of the Chief Dental Officer published a policy on this in November 2024, and the British Association of Dental Nurses relays its core line. Patients who self-funded treatment "can access NHS care where there is a need for stabilisation, or to manage an acute problem."[^16] The Dental Technologists Association relays the same wording, and says the policy covers treatment "in the UK or abroad."[^17]
We could not retrieve the policy's full text from NHS England's site. So this article does not report what it says about finishing or replacing the original work.
The NHS has picked up some of the cost. In the BDA survey, over 40% of dentists said remedial treatment was provided on the NHS.[^2] That survey predates the 2024 policy.
## What the headline numbers leave out
**Turkey's complication insurance is written for the operating theatre.** Turkey's health tourism regulation requires facilities to insure "surgical and interventional procedures to be performed in an operating-theatre setting."[^18] The regulation does not mention dental treatment.
Its legal status has moved too. As reported by the Turkish law firm Hanyaloğlu Acar, a court suspended the requirement on 25 December 2025 and lifted the suspension on 21 May 2026.[^19] The International Health Tourism Institute, a Turkish sector body, independently reports the same May decision.[^20] As of September 2026, both say the case to annul the rule is still open. Our [explainer on what that insurance pays](/articles/turkey-complication-insurance-limits) covers the details.
**Turkish time limits are disputed.** Tekcan puts claims against a private clinic at five years.[^12] Geçmez puts them at two years from discovering the harm, and ten from the procedure.[^13] The difference seems to come from treating the claim as a contract or as a wrong. Take local advice before relying on either.
**How often each route pays is unknown.** We found no published figure for how often any of the five routes pays out for dental work abroad. The three ombudsman decisions here are cases, not a sample. They show what the ombudsman asks for, not how often patients win.
**The UK regulator points you elsewhere.** The General Dental Council says it "can't guarantee another organisation like us exists in other countries."[^21] Its own list of questions for patients includes the one this article is about: "Who pays for the extra flights, hotel and remedial work?"
## Before you pay the deposit
Put at least part of the payment on a credit card, paid to the clinic directly rather than through a logged-in PayPal account.[^4] Keep the receipt showing the card payment went to the clinic.
Get the treatment plan in writing, tooth by tooth, naming the material and whether each crown is single, joined or part of a bridge. The 28-crown claim failed on exactly that gap.[^5]
Get the guarantee terms in writing before you travel. Check who pays flights, and whether emergency treatment by a UK dentist voids it.[^14][^15]
Keep every message, and take your X-rays and notes home.
If it has already gone wrong, work to the shortest clock first. On a debit card, write to the clinic now and raise a chargeback within 120 days of the payment.[^7]
On a credit card, start a Section 75 claim. Ask a UK dentist for a report that says, in terms, whether the work met reasonable care and skill, since both failed claims above lacked one. For pain or infection, see an NHS dentist, and ask the clinic in writing for authorisation at the same time.
[^1]: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4799026.pdf — Financial Ombudsman Service, "Decision Reference DRN-4799026" (final decision on a complaint against Bank of Scotland plc, with appended provisional decision of Apr 24, 2024; published 2024). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^2]: https://dentistry.co.uk/2022/07/14/dental-tourism-nine-in-10-dentists-have-treated-patients-who-travelled-abroad-for-treatment/ — Dentistry.co.uk, "Dental tourism: Nine in 10 dentists have treated patients who travelled abroad for treatment," reporting the British Dental Association's 2022 survey of 1,000 UK dentists (published Jul 14, 2022). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^3]: https://www.drbicuspid.com/dental-specialties/smile-design/restorations/article/15379699/uk-dentists-left-to-fix-dental-tourism-gone-wrong — DrBicuspid.com, "U.K. dentists left to fix dental tourism gone wrong," reporting the same British Dental Association survey (published Jul 26, 2022). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^4]: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/ — MoneySavingExpert, "Section 75 refunds: credit card protection" (updated Aug 20, 2026). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^5]: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4749818.pdf — Financial Ombudsman Service, "Decision Reference DRN-4749818" (final decision on a complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited, with appended provisional decision of Mar 27, 2024; published 2024). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^6]: https://www.capitalone.co.uk/support/section-75 — Capital One UK, "Section 75". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^7]: https://www.visa.co.uk/how-you-pay-matters/chargeback-purchase-disputes.html — Visa UK, "Chargeback: Debit & Credit Card Purchase Disputes". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^8]: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4348159.pdf — Financial Ombudsman Service, "Decision Reference DRN-4348159" (final decision on a complaint against Nationwide Building Society; published 2023). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^9]: https://afyon.ticaret.gov.tr/duyurular/tuketici-hakem-heyeti-basvurularinda-2026-yili-parasal-degerleri-yeniden-belirlendi — Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade, Afyonkarahisar Provincial Directorate, "Tüketici Hakem Heyeti Başvurularında 2026 Yılı Parasal Değerleri Yeniden Belirlendi," citing the Official Gazette notice of Dec 23, 2025 (published Dec 25, 2025). Translations are this publication's own. Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^10]: https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/kurlar/today.xml — Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, indicative exchange rates, bulletin 2026/184 (Sep 30, 2026), GBP forex selling rate 65.1874 lira. Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^11]: https://ticaret.gov.tr/tuketici/tuketici-hakem-heyetleri/tuketici-hakem-heyetlerine-iliskin-bilgilendirme-metni — Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade, "Tüketici Hakem Heyetlerine İlişkin Bilgilendirme Metni" (dated Jan 22, 2026). Translations are this publication's own. Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^12]: https://www.tekcan.av.tr/dis-estetigi-ve-dis-protezinde-hekim-hatalari/ — Tekcan Hukuk Bürosu (law firm, Turkey), "Diş Estetiği ve Diş Protezinde Hekim Hataları," citing Court of Cassation decision 2014/22053, 2015/17507. Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^13]: https://www.gecmezhukuk.com/estetik-ve-dis-ameliyatlarinda-malpraktis-hakkinda-sikca-sorulan-sorular/ — Geçmez Hukuk (law firm, Turkey), "Estetik ve Diş Ameliyatlarında Malpraktis Hakkında Sıkça Sorulan Sorular" (published Aug 14, 2025). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^14]: https://www.smiledentalturkey.com/our-no-worries-treatment-warranties/ — Smile Dental Turkey (clinic), "No Worries & Treatment Warranties". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^15]: https://medicistanbul.net/guarantee/ — Medic Istanbul (clinic), "Guarantee". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^16]: https://www.badn.org.uk/NewPublic/News/Clinical-Policy-for-NHS-Care-After-Self-Funded-Dental-Treatment.aspx — British Association of Dental Nurses, "Clinical Policy for NHS Care After Self-Funded Dental Treatment," relaying NHS England's "Avoidance of doubt: Clinical policy for self-funded dental treatment requiring NHS intervention". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^17]: https://www.dta-uk.org/news/avoidance-of-doubt-clinical-policy-for-self-funded-dental-treatment-requiring-nhs-intervention — Dental Technologists Association, "Avoidance of doubt: Clinical policy for self-funded dental treatment requiring NHS intervention," relaying the NHS England policy (published Nov 12, 2024). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^18]: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/04/20250426-2.htm — Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye), "Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi ve Turistin Sağlığı Hakkında Yönetmelik" (published Apr 26, 2025), Article 6. Translations are this publication's own. Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^19]: https://www.hanyaloglu-acar.av.tr/malpraktis-tazminat/komplikasyon-sigortasi-danistay-karari — Hanyaloğlu Acar Hukuk Bürosu (law firm, Turkey), "Sağlık Turizminde Komplikasyon Sigortası Kararı," on Danıştay 10th Chamber case E.2025/3198 and Administrative Law Chambers Council decision YD İtiraz No. 2026/286 (updated Sep 15, 2026). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^20]: https://www.uste.org.tr/danistaydan-saglik-turizminde-komplikasyon-sigortasi-karari-zorunlulugun-onundeki-yurutmeyi-durdurma-karari-kaldirildi/ — Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi Enstitüsü (International Health Tourism Institute), "Danıştay'dan Sağlık Turizminde Komplikasyon Sigortası Kararı," on the Administrative Law Chambers Council decision of May 21, 2026, which it numbers YD İtiraz No. 2026/329 where Hanyaloğlu Acar gives 2026/286 (published Sep 13, 2026). Accessed Sep 30, 2026.
[^21]: https://www.gdc-uk.org/standards-guidance/information-for-patients-public/going-abroad-for-dental-treatment — General Dental Council, "Going abroad for dental treatment". Accessed Sep 30, 2026.