A grandmother had to have all her teeth removed and replaced with £8,000 implants after losing more than half of her teeth to gum disease.
Hayley Debra Potter, 57, began losing teeth 14 years ago 19 of her teeth fell out or had to be removed due to painful abscesses throughout her mouth.
Her remaining teeth were so yellow that Hayley hadn’t smiled with them for years, she said.
She finally decided join the estimated 250,000 plus British citizens who jet off abroad for medical procedures after she’d ‘had enough’ of her dental problems.
Earlier this month, the grandmother-of-three hopped on a flight and in a four-and-a-half hour procedure, had all 13 of her remaining teeth removed.
Photos revealed gruesome bruising after her teeth were removed in the clinic, but the results have left Hayley unable to stop smiling.
She had ten dental implants inserted – and will wear dentures for six months while it heals enough for crowns and bridges to be added.
But she says already she can’t stop grinning – and said her ‘confidence is through the roof’.
Hayley, a hospital ward housekeeper from Derby, said: ‘Before the surgery, I felt so insecure and I would never smile with my teeth. I had to mentally prepare myself so I would stay calm and think of the end result.
What are dental implants and how are they different to veneers?
Dental implants are a procedure which involves replacing teeth which are either missing or were removed with screws and crowns. Implants are a permanent option for those who have lost teeth or had dental issues.
Veneers, however, are a popular option which are often made or porcelain and bonded to existing teeth as a sort of ‘shell’, after shaving down the existing teeth. They can last up to two decades if done properly.
‘I was awake the whole time – but I was ok with that because the surgeon was bloody handsome! Afterwards, I got very swollen and bruised – I was unrecognisable.
‘But now I feel wonderful. I know it will change my life completely. I’ve never smiled so much in my life. It was worth every penny!’
She chose a clinic in Antalya, Turkey, for the procedure, and said she had ‘no pain the first day’ because she was numbed.
‘I was given painkillers and anti-inflammatories,’ she said. ‘I was very swollen and bruised but everyone in the hotel was having some kind of cosmetic surgery so I was well supported.’
Hayley was given a set of permanent dentures to wear for six months, at which point her dental implants will be fully healed and she can have her ‘proper’ teeth – the dental bridges – put on.
Is it dangerous to get medical procedures abroad?
Thanks to the popularity of cut-price package deals offering sun, sea and surgery, cosmetic tourism has seen an increasing number of men and women jetting off to sunnier climes such as Thailand and Turkey for boob jobs, gastric bands or facelifts.
With the most recent data available from the Office for National Statistics citing that 248,000 UK residents traveled abroad for medical treatment in 2019, it’s a figure that has more than doubled since 2015.
For many, it’s a happy holiday, but for others, as the popularity of cosmetic tourism soars, the results can be far from pretty.
In fact, the number of people needing hospital treatment in the UK after getting cosmetic surgery abroad increased by 94% in just three years, according to 2023 research by The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).
She returned to the UK on October 17, and has since continued a soft-food diet – which she has to maintain for six months until she gets her bridges to complete the procedure.
Hayley added: ‘I can’t eat tough foods at the minute but I couldn’t anyway because of how bad my teeth were before. I feel wonderful. I already know it will change my life completely.
‘Whenever I walk past a mirror I smile – I can’t stop smiling! I’ve never smiled so much in my life.’
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