Pay with a UK credit card if you can. For a purchase between £100 and £30,000, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes the card provider jointly responsible if the clinic breaks the contract or misrepresents it, and this applies abroad. Debit cards only have the chargeback scheme, which is not a legal right.
Compare the quote with NHS charges, check that your travel insurance does not exclude planned treatment, and arrange a dentist at home before you go.
What the NHS would charge
In England, one charge covers a whole course of treatment: £27.90 (Band 1), £76.60 (Band 2) or £332.10 (Band 3, which includes crowns, bridges and dentures), from 1 April 2026. Implants and cosmetic treatment are usually private. See costs at home for the details.
Paying by card
- Credit card: Section 75
- For purchases over £100 and up to £30,000 on a UK credit card, the card provider is jointly liable with the supplier for breach of contract or misrepresentation. Courts have confirmed it applies to transactions abroad. It is not insurance against everything: you need evidence of what was agreed and what went wrong.
- Debit card: chargeback
- A chargeback asks your bank to reverse a payment under card scheme rules. It is not a legal right, the clinic can dispute it, and time limits apply, typically 120 days from payment or from when the service was due.
- Cash and bank transfer
- No card protection at all.
- If the provider refuses
- You can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service after the provider's final response.
Keep the written plan, the itemised invoice and all messages. They are your evidence.
Travel insurance
- Standard travel insurance usually excludes planned treatment abroad and its complications. Emergency dental cover for sudden pain or an accident is a different thing.
- Specialist policies for travelling for treatment exist. Check how long after treatment they cover you and whether they pay for corrective treatment.
- The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is not valid in Türkiye, and it never covers treatment in private clinics.
Entry rules
British citizens can visit Türkiye without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Your passport must be valid for at least 150 days after the date you arrive. Check the current GOV.UK advice before you book.
Care back home
- An NHS dentist can treat problems under normal NHS rules and charges, but is not responsible for the work done abroad. In a 2022 British Dental Association survey, 86% of UK dentists said they had treated problems after treatment abroad.
- For urgent dental problems out of hours, use NHS 111.
- Bring home X-rays, scans, implant brands and sizes, and the guarantee terms. See dental records.
Sources
- Hill Dickinson: negligence and the Consumer Credit Act (secondary)
- Resolver: chargeback complaints (secondary)
- Stripe: chargeback time limits in the UK (commercial)
- Financial Ombudsman Service
- NHS Business Services Authority: current NHS dental charges (England)
- GOV.UK: Türkiye entry requirements
- NHS: UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)
- Admiral: treatment holidays and travel insurance (commercial)
- British Dental Association: UK dentists picking up the pieces from dental tourism boom (2022)