"I had 27 broken gnashers removed and replaced with Turkey teeth now I can't stop grinning"
- 7 months ago
A grandad looks '10 years younger' after having 27 broken teeth removed and replaced with implants in Turkey - and has smiled for the first time in 30 years.
Steve Kemsley, 50, spent years in pain and felt embarrassed to smile after a childhood of neglected oral hygiene left him with broken teeth.
The dad-of-two couldn't afford a set of pearly whites in the UK so jetted off to Antalya, Turkey, to have his teeth removed and replaced with implants for £6,400.
Steve said his new gnashers have given him a "new lease of life", people tell him he looks a decade younger and now can't stop beaming.
Steve, an HGV driver, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said: “Every time I laughed, I’d cover my mouth.
"Every time I smiled, I didn’t open my mouth. It was getting to the point they were falling out and it was painful at times.
"I’ve had so many comments on how good they look and how happy I seem.
“My confidence has grow. It’s been an amazing journey for me. It has given me a new lease of life.
"People have said I look an act a completely different person - it's taken 10 years off me.”
Steve had 27 old and broken teeth and had lost five after not brushing his teeth as a child.
He said: "Like a lot of kids in the 70s and 80s you weren’t encouraged to brush your teeth, I was only interested in football.
“It never really bothered me until later in life when they started to get bad.”
Steve started looking into options to fix his teeth but couldn't afford the £21,000 fee he was quoted for veneers in the UK.
Desperate to have them fixed, he looked into dentists abroad and found Dental Wise Turkey - which quoted £6,400 for the surgery, accommodation and travel.
Steve said: “They were fantastic. I was treated like a king throughout the whole process. You get to stay in a five-star hotel, and they drive you to every appointment.
"It was incredible for the money - I only had to pay for the flight as an additional cost.”
Steve used the inheritance from his late uncle, Michael Kemsley, to pay for the treatment and he flew out to Antalya, Turkey in April 2023.
He said: "Initially it is lots of calls and WhatsApp messaging - pictures and videos of my teeth - and then I had to fly out for a week to get my old and broken teeth taken out.”
He had a three-hour procedure in Turkey to take his teeth out before then having five implants installed in the top of his mouth and another five on the bottom.
Steve sad: “I had to wait four months for the implants to heal over and stitches come out before I could go back.”
Steve spent the four months healing and lost three stone in the process by switching up his diet.
He said: “A month before Turkey, I wanted to start looking after myself, I started to exercise and went on a diet.
"My healing period actually helped that, as I was only able to eat soft foods. I was forced to stay healthy that way, only eating foods like rice, pasta, omelette.
"I’m still adjusting to eating and chewing with new teeth now, it feels completely different.”
Steve flew back out in September 2023 and the teeth were finally fixed into the mouth.
He said: “It threw me. I was absolutely gob smacked.
"I was really overwhelmed when I saw them because I hadn’t had a smile like that in the best part of 30 years.
“For the first time in years I could smile and laugh without covering my mouth.”
Steve wants to encourage others, who may feel insecure about their smiles, to do the same as him.
He said: “When I came back, I went to visit my two-year-old granddaughter. I smiled at her, and she looked at me and went ‘teeth! Teeth!’."
“There's a tag on veneers, everyone calls them Turkey teeth. I don’t think that’s fair. They do an amazing job over there.
“I really can’t recommend it enough to anyone who wants to do it. This one thing of just getting my teeth done has completely changed my life for the better.
“Apart from my kids and grandkids this is the best thing that’s happened to me.”
Steve Kemsley, 50, spent years in pain and felt embarrassed to smile after a childhood of neglected oral hygiene left him with broken teeth.
The dad-of-two couldn't afford a set of pearly whites in the UK so jetted off to Antalya, Turkey, to have his teeth removed and replaced with implants for £6,400.
Steve said his new gnashers have given him a "new lease of life", people tell him he looks a decade younger and now can't stop beaming.
Steve, an HGV driver, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said: “Every time I laughed, I’d cover my mouth.
"Every time I smiled, I didn’t open my mouth. It was getting to the point they were falling out and it was painful at times.
"I’ve had so many comments on how good they look and how happy I seem.
“My confidence has grow. It’s been an amazing journey for me. It has given me a new lease of life.
"People have said I look an act a completely different person - it's taken 10 years off me.”
Steve had 27 old and broken teeth and had lost five after not brushing his teeth as a child.
He said: "Like a lot of kids in the 70s and 80s you weren’t encouraged to brush your teeth, I was only interested in football.
“It never really bothered me until later in life when they started to get bad.”
Steve started looking into options to fix his teeth but couldn't afford the £21,000 fee he was quoted for veneers in the UK.
Desperate to have them fixed, he looked into dentists abroad and found Dental Wise Turkey - which quoted £6,400 for the surgery, accommodation and travel.
Steve said: “They were fantastic. I was treated like a king throughout the whole process. You get to stay in a five-star hotel, and they drive you to every appointment.
"It was incredible for the money - I only had to pay for the flight as an additional cost.”
Steve used the inheritance from his late uncle, Michael Kemsley, to pay for the treatment and he flew out to Antalya, Turkey in April 2023.
He said: "Initially it is lots of calls and WhatsApp messaging - pictures and videos of my teeth - and then I had to fly out for a week to get my old and broken teeth taken out.”
He had a three-hour procedure in Turkey to take his teeth out before then having five implants installed in the top of his mouth and another five on the bottom.
Steve sad: “I had to wait four months for the implants to heal over and stitches come out before I could go back.”
Steve spent the four months healing and lost three stone in the process by switching up his diet.
He said: “A month before Turkey, I wanted to start looking after myself, I started to exercise and went on a diet.
"My healing period actually helped that, as I was only able to eat soft foods. I was forced to stay healthy that way, only eating foods like rice, pasta, omelette.
"I’m still adjusting to eating and chewing with new teeth now, it feels completely different.”
Steve flew back out in September 2023 and the teeth were finally fixed into the mouth.
He said: “It threw me. I was absolutely gob smacked.
"I was really overwhelmed when I saw them because I hadn’t had a smile like that in the best part of 30 years.
“For the first time in years I could smile and laugh without covering my mouth.”
Steve wants to encourage others, who may feel insecure about their smiles, to do the same as him.
He said: “When I came back, I went to visit my two-year-old granddaughter. I smiled at her, and she looked at me and went ‘teeth! Teeth!’."
“There's a tag on veneers, everyone calls them Turkey teeth. I don’t think that’s fair. They do an amazing job over there.
“I really can’t recommend it enough to anyone who wants to do it. This one thing of just getting my teeth done has completely changed my life for the better.
“Apart from my kids and grandkids this is the best thing that’s happened to me.”