Per-tooth pricing is the most misleading figure in cosmetic dentistry, and nearly every clinic leads with it.
The problem is that a “full set” is not a fixed quantity. Some clinics mean 16 veneers. Some mean 20. A few quote for eight and let the patient discover the rest later. At £150 a tooth, the difference between 16 and 24 units is £1,200 — and it often only becomes clear once the patient is in the chair.
Anyone comparing quotes should convert everything to a total for the number of teeth that actually show when they smile.
For most people, that is 20.
What a full set costs
Published pricing from Smile Dental Turkey in Antalya, for a full set of 20 units:
| Veneer/crown type | Best for | Full set of 20 |
| E.max laminate veneer | Minimal prep, front teeth, most natural translucency | from £4,500 |
| E.max crown | Teeth needing more structural coverage | from £3,900 |
| Zirconium crown | Full-coverage strength, back teeth, bruxism | from £3,335 |
| Composite bonding | Reversible, budget option, shorter lifespan | from £1,400 |
The zirconium figure — £3,335 for 20 units — is the one most often compared against a UK quote. Private UK pricing for equivalent work generally lands between £12,000 and £20,000.
The decision that matters more than the price
Choosing between laminate veneers and crowns is a bigger decision than choosing between clinics.
A laminate veneer removes roughly 0.3 to 0.7 mm of enamel from the front surface of the tooth. A crown removes considerably more, all the way round. Crowns are stronger and sometimes clinically necessary — a heavily filled, root-treated or badly worn tooth will not hold a veneer. But a crown placed on a healthy tooth is an irreversible decision taken for a cosmetic reason.
“The cases that made the news are almost always this — healthy teeth crowned when veneers or orthodontics would have done the job,” says D.D.S. Uğur Gültekinler, lead smile designer at Smile Dental Turkey and a co-founder of the clinic. “That is a treatment planning failure, not a geography failure. The same mistake gets made in London.”
He adds that patients are often better served by a smaller intervention: “We routinely tell people that aligners first, then four to six veneers, will give a better result than 20 crowns. It is usually cheaper for them too, which is not a great sales pitch, but it is the correct advice.”
Where a clinic proposes crowns on 20 healthy teeth without discussing alternatives, a second opinion is worth the delay.
What the guarantee actually covers
Warranty terms vary more between clinics than prices do, and they repay close reading. At Smile Dental Turkey, the terms run as follows:
- Crowns and full veneers — five-year guarantee
- Standard veneers and root canal treatment — two years
- Implant screws — guaranteed for life, meaning the fixture rather than the prosthesis fitted on top of it
The pattern is common across the industry: the component guaranteed longest is the one least likely to fail, while the visible restoration carries the shorter term. What matters is that the terms and durations appear in the written treatment plan before the patient travels, rather than being referenced vaguely on a website.
Two things that genuinely differ abroad
Turnaround is faster where the laboratory sits inside the building. Clinics milling in-house on Katana units can make a shade adjustment the same afternoon rather than waiting a week for an external lab. That is a real operational advantage, and it is why five- to seven-day treatment is possible at all.
Aftercare is harder. The patient will be 2,000 miles from the clinic that did the work. The questions to ask are what happens if a unit debonds in month four, who to call, whether return flights are covered, and whether a UK dentist can carry out the repair. A clinic that has thought about it will answer immediately.
Before committing
Get the number of units in writing. Get the material named. Get the guarantee terms with durations attached. And compare totals rather than per-tooth figures.
Smile Dental Turkey publishes what a full set of veneers costs in Turkey with a per-material breakdown updated for 2026, including what is and is not included — which at least removes the per-tooth comparison game that leaves so many patients paying twice.