I flew to Turkey with my girlfriend to have £4k veneers fitted – it’s ruined our lives

A couple who flew to Turkey to get £4k cosmetic veneers say they have “ruined their lives” as they are still in pain months later.

Kelly Tushingham, 30, and her partner Jade, 32, from Chester, Cheshire, went to Antalya, Turkey in September 2022.

They planned to combine a beach vacation with a smile checkup after being lured by cheaper dental prices.

The procedure consisted of shaving the teeth before placing the new set of veneers on top.

The day after their arrival, the couple visited a private clinic near their hotel for the first stage of their transformation.

After undergoing X-rays, they were given doses of local anesthetic while dentists filed their teeth, causing both ‘instantaneous’ pain.

The couple then had to wait at the clinic reception for about five hours with their “shark teeth” before dentists fitted them with temporary veneers.

After this, Kelly and Jade had to wait five more days before they could fit their new permanent smiles, while their ‘heels’ left them in agony.

Jade, 32, and her partner Kelly Tushingham, 30, from Chester, Cheshire, who flew to Turkey to get £4k cosmetic veneers on their teeth say it ‘ruined their lives’, and they were unable to eat or drink (in the photo with his teeth filed)

The couple, who paid £4,240 in total for both sets of permanent veneers, were still in a lot of pain after having their veneers fitted.

The procedure involved shaving the teeth before placing the new set of veneers over them (medium Jade procedure).

After arriving for their procedures, on September 24, 2022, they were “on edge” as the clinic seemed “unprofessional.”

Jade said: “Before the actual veneers were put in, we had to dramatically file down all our teeth and do our temporary sets.”

“It was terrifying to see our teeth filled to almost nothing and it was really painful. On top of that, it was a long process that day, from around 9 am to 6 pm.’

Temporary veneers, which had to be kept in place at all times, were said to be ill-fitting and similar to ‘horse teeth’.

Neither could eat or drink and were forced to survive on mashed potatoes and soup; even water was difficult to swallow due to his highly sensitive teeth.

On the sixth day, the beloved couple, who left their jobs in the summer of 2022 to go on a trip, were finally called in to have their crowns fitted, but both describe the procedure as “like a bloodbath.”

Jade and Kelly, who are still in pain on a daily basis, are now beginning to consider revisiting the clinic to have their teeth fixed.

After undergoing X-rays, they were given doses of local anesthetic while dentists filed down their gnashers, causing both of them “instantaneous” pain.

Jade said: ‘Lots of our friends had already had it done and told us it didn’t hurt. I always wanted to, even though my teeth were fine before.

‘But even now, we are both still in constant pain. All the food in the hotel looked beautiful, but we couldn’t eat any of it.

“We survived on mashed potatoes and soup, even drinking it was difficult because our teeth were very sensitive.

‘Looking back now, we wouldn’t have done it 100 per cent. It has cost us a lot of money and it has been hell.

‘We used some savings we already had to pay for it. They look beautiful and in the photos they are perfect, but it’s like a nightmare.

On the sixth day, they were finally called in to have their crowns fitted, but both describe the procedure as “like a bloodbath.”

Describing how she ‘ruined their lives’, Jade said: ‘We both had good teeth beforehand, my bottom set was a little crooked, but neither of us really needed them done.

‘It costs around £20,000 per person to have the procedure done in the UK. We were terrified the day of the procedure, I am very afraid of needles.

We were a bit nervous and exhausted. After all our teeth were gone they put the temporary veneers in, but I was already scared.

“My dad even told me once that I needed an Oscar for giving me a blood test. We were in separate rooms and I was crying in pain right away.

“I remember Kelly coming into my room when I had [her teeth shaved down] and said “this is horrible”.

“Then they just sent us on naproxen, which is an anti-inflammatory, medicated mouthwash to use in the meantime.”

The couple were then left waiting for a permanent set for more than five days, while ‘chunks’ of their teeth caused them agony.

The couple said their teeth “visually look beautiful” and people ask them where they got them, but they don’t recommend them to anyone.

On September 29, 2022, Jade and Kelly nervously returned to the clinic to have their permanent veneers placed.

Kelly continued: “The process was horrible, there was just blood everywhere, the dentist told me I wouldn’t need to be numbed for the fitting of the veneers.”

“I asked to be put to sleep because I was already in a lot of pain. The dentist was pretty cheeky and said, ‘I’m going to have to put you to sleep then.’

‘We both ended up having numbness. I think they were just sick of us, because some people just sit there and do it, but we all have different pain thresholds.

At the end of the process, Jade received 25 new teeth and Kelly had 24.

Leaving Turkey a week later, the couple, who paid £4,240 in total for both sets of permanent veneers, were still in severe pain.

Jade and Kelly took some snaps with their temporary veneers, however, they said eating a hot meal followed by a cold drink was “just awful.”

Jade and Kelly Tushingham were pictured with their temporary veneers in place for five days.

The temporary veneers, which they had to keep in place at all times, were said to be ill-fitting and similar to “horse teeth”.

“We messaged the dentist on Instagram about it when we got back,” Jade said.

‘It was difficult to communicate due to the language barrier, but she advised us to take ibuprofen for five days and also try a muscle relaxant.

We had already been taking ibuprofen anyway and it made no difference so we didn’t know what to do.

‘Nothing seemed to take away the pain. Eating a hot meal followed by a cold drink is horrible.

We can’t even have a cup of tea because our teeth are very sensitive. Everywhere we go we have painkillers.

In the car, in my bag, next to the bed. We definitely can’t sleep because we wake up in the night needing more painkillers.

‘Sometimes I say to Kelly ‘what do you want for tea? And then say ‘oh no, we can’t have that because my teeth hurt so much today’.

Despite trying to get help in the UK, the girls have had trouble finding a dentist who can help.

“No dentist in the UK would touch them,” Jade said.

We’ve been at this for almost four months now. One of our friends is six months post-surgery and she’s still in pain, so I think we’ll give her up to six months and probably look at flying back there.

“Visually our teeth look beautiful, and we have people asking us all the time where we got them done because they want their own.

‘We always say no, absolutely not to do them. We would never recommend them to anyone.