Before you compare a quote from Türkiye with prices at home, check what your own health system would pay. In England, a whole NHS course of treatment costs at most £332.10, however many crowns it includes. In Ireland most adults pay privately for crowns and implants but can claim tax relief, including for treatment abroad. In Germany, statutory insurance pays a fixed subsidy for crowns, bridges and dentures, but not for planned treatment in Türkiye.
A fair comparison also counts flights, hotel, time off work, a possible second trip and the cost of fixing problems later.
United Kingdom (England)
NHS dental care in England is charged in three bands. You pay one charge for a whole course of treatment, at the band of the most complex item in it. These charges apply from 1 April 2026.
- Band 1: £27.90
- Examination, diagnosis and advice, with X-rays and a scale and polish if needed.
- Band 2: £76.60
- Everything in Band 1, plus treatment such as fillings, root canal treatment and removing teeth.
- Band 3: £332.10
- Everything in Bands 1 and 2, plus crowns, bridges and dentures.
- Urgent care: £27.90
- Urgent treatment, such as pain relief or a temporary filling.
- What the NHS does not usually cover. Treatment done mainly for appearance, such as cosmetic veneers or whitening, and in most cases implants. These are paid for privately.
- Exemptions. Some people pay nothing, for example under-18s, pregnant women and people on certain benefits.
- Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own charges.
- Paying abroad by credit card. For purchases between £100 and £30,000 on a UK credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the card provider jointly responsible if the supplier breaks the contract or misrepresents it. This has been confirmed to apply to transactions abroad. Keep the written plan and receipts as evidence.
Ireland
Most adults in Ireland pay privately for dental treatment beyond check-ups and cleaning. Two schemes matter when you compare prices.
- PRSI Treatment Benefit
- If you have enough PRSI contributions, you get one free oral examination a year, and a contribution of €50 towards a scale and polish, with any balance capped at €15. It does not pay for crowns, bridges or implants.
- Tax relief on non-routine treatment
- Non-routine dental care, such as crowns, veneers, root canal treatment, orthodontics and bridgework, can be claimed as a health expense at the standard rate. Revenue lists implants under gum (periodontal) treatment. Treatment done outside Ireland can qualify if the dentist is qualified under that country's law.
- Ask the clinic before treatment whether its dentist will complete Revenue's Form Med 2. It is the dentist's receipt for the claim. You keep it in case Revenue asks for it, and claim under the "non-routine" heading.
- Routine care, such as fillings, cleaning, extractions and dentures, does not qualify.
Germany
Statutory health insurance pays a fixed subsidy (Festzuschuss) towards crowns, bridges and dentures. It is based on the standard treatment for the problem (Regelversorgung), not on the treatment you choose.
- 60%
- Of the cost of the standard treatment, without a bonus booklet.
- 70% or 75%
- With a bonus booklet showing regular check-ups for five or ten years.
- Example
- For a metal bridge replacing one back tooth, with a standard cost of €921.60 in 2026, the insurer pays €552.96 without a bonus and €691.20 with the maximum bonus.
- Implants
- Not standard treatment, but the subsidy for the standard option is still paid. You pay the difference.
- Treatment abroad. In the EU, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, the subsidy can be paid for dental prostheses only if your insurer approved the foreign treatment and cost plan before treatment started.
- Türkiye is outside that system. The German–Turkish social security agreement mainly covers urgent treatment. We found no route for planned dental treatment in Türkiye to be subsidised. Ask your insurer in writing before you book.
How to compare a quote fairly
- Compare like with like.Per tooth or per implant, with the same material and the same number of visits. The treatment pages show what patients report being quoted in Türkiye, per unit, once enough quotes are in.
- Add the trip.Flights, hotel, transfers, meals and time off work, for every trip. Implants usually need two trips months apart.
- Add what your system would have paid.An NHS charge, a PRSI benefit, Irish tax relief or a German subsidy may make the difference smaller than it first looks.
- Budget for problems.In a 2022 survey of UK dentists by the British Dental Association, two in three of those who had repaired work done abroad said it cost the patient at least £500, and one in five said it cost more than £5,000.
Frequently asked questions
Will my NHS dentist fix problems from treatment abroad?
An NHS dentist can treat you under the normal NHS rules and charges, but is not responsible for the work done abroad. In the 2022 British Dental Association survey, just over 40% of dentists who repaired such work said it was done on the NHS. A refund for poor treatment has to be claimed from the clinic that did it.
Are these prices the same everywhere in the country?
NHS bands in England are fixed. Private prices in the UK, Ireland and Germany vary between practices, so ask for a written estimate at home to compare.
Can I claim the Irish tax relief for travel costs?
Revenue's dental guidance covers the treatment itself. Check Revenue's health expenses guidance before counting any other costs.
Sources
- NHS Business Services Authority: current NHS dental charges (England)
- Hill Dickinson: negligence and the Consumer Credit Act (secondary)
- Irish Statute Book: S.I. No. 23 of 2026 (Treatment Benefit dental fees)
- Revenue (Ireland): dental expenses
- Verbraucherzentrale: Zahnersatz, what statutory insurance pays (2026)
- Techniker Krankenkasse: dental prostheses from abroad
- Allianz: health cover in Türkiye and the social security agreement (commercial)
- British Dental Association: UK dentists picking up the pieces from dental tourism boom (2022)