A woman has gone viral on TikTok after sharing her traumatic dental ordeal as she now faces losing all her teeth.
Lisa Martin, 48, a healthcare assistant from Co Kerry, Ireland, has shared her story in a new BBC documentary, Turkey Teeth: Bargain Smiles or Big Mistakes, which aired yesterday (14 July).
She shared how she initially flew to Turkey in 2011 to get dental mono crowns, a type of cap that restores the tooth, for 1,500 EUR (£1,248).
She was pleased with her top set of pearly whites until she noticed a small crack in one of her crowns in 2020 – which would become the start of a horrifying and very expensive nightmare.
Thinking she would only have to replace the one damaged tooth, Lisa jetted off to Turkey in 2021 – but was told she would need to replace her entire top set of teeth.
While out there, she decided to get her bottom teeth filled down too, at the combined cost of 3,500 EUR (£2,913).
Lisa claims she was under the impression she was getting veneers – used purely for cosmetic reasons – but was given a mouth full of crowns, which dentists opt for to repair major tooth damage.
Unfortunately, something went very wrong.
As she landed back home, Lisa began to develop an abscess which soon infected the entire side of her face, leaving her in excruciating pain.
Distraught, she rushed to her local dentist and was told she would need a review every six months and multiple root canals, set to cost her thousands.
Lisa can also no longer eat properly as the food aggravates the nerves of her mouth and has led to her losing a lot of weight.
“I made a stupid decision based on cost and this will now affect me for the rest of my life,” Lisa told NeedToKnow.online.
“Because all these teeth are joined, it turns into a huge job for the dentist to separate the crowns without breaking them to extract a tooth.
“The fear of the unknown is wrecking my head, because I know I won’t be able to afford to keep getting root canals.
“I will lose my teeth and end up with dentures – it’s just a matter of when I’ll lose them.”
Lisa has now taken to TikTok to warn others of the dangers of getting your teeth done abroad and sharing the daily pain she has to live with.
One of several videos has racked up 338,000 views and over 6,000 likes so far.
In the clip, Lisa begins by commenting on how sensitive her mouth is, before pushing on two of her teeth.
She says that she can feel her “fangs” underneath them and that she’s “exhausted” due to the pain.
Lisa claims to have been “slammed” by people online, who have said she’s lying about the pain to “bad mouth” the Turkish dental industry.
“You’re telling me I had 26 teeth filed down, these shoved into my mouth and that I’m lying about the pain – whatever,” she says in the clip.
Users have taken to the comment section to applaud Lisa for her transparency.
“Thanks for posting we need to hear about the unsuccessful procedures. I would be interested in what your own dentist says,” one viewer commented.
“Root canal for you I’d say,” wrote another person.
“Worked in a dental surgery for a couple of years. Cases like this came in all the time. Feel so bad for you,” someone else added.
One person commented “Tooth pain is the worst pain there is!!! I hope you feel better soon.”
“Omg thank you for all your videos. I have considered going for a while but I’ve defo made my decision now. Your honesty has saved me,” another viewer added. [sic]
Someone else said: “You tell your story girl hope u get sorted.” [sic]
Lisa hopes the videos will deter others from going abroad to get their teeth fixed.
She added: “When going abroad to have your teeth done, it’s not in the best interest of the dentists to tell you the problems you may encounter.
“As you have someone with beautiful teeth telling you that you’ll feel nothing, this sounds too good to be true for anyone with a complex about their teeth.
“They’ll say it only costs whatever amount and you’ll have great teeth in one week, with no pain.
“I had a completely different experience in 2011 as wasn’t as busy. In 2021 it was like a conveyer belt.”
WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS
Dentist Dr Shaadi Manouchehri, who has been practicing for seven years, has shared her expertise on having crowns and the dangers involved with Jam Press.
She said: “Crowns are fixed dental prostheses typically used to restore compromised teeth and teeth with multiple existing restorations.
“Shaving healthy teeth down to pegs can result in irreversible nerve damage which can cause pain and infection.
“The treatment required in case of irreversible nerve damage will be root canal treatment or in some cases if the teeth cannot be saved, extraction may be the only option.
“Furthermore, crowns typically need to be replaced every 15 years.
“Getting 20 crowns on healthy teeth at a young age not only compromises the health of those teeth but will also result in ongoing financial commitment of replacement of those crowns as well as further works as needed such as root canal treatments.
“There are minimally invasive alternatives to this treatment in most cases.”
