Our standards
How we select a dental clinic
We are currently in a pre-partnership phase and have not yet named a partner clinic. This page describes the framework we apply, not a verdict we have already reached about any particular clinic.
Every check below is one you can make yourself. If you end up choosing a clinic through someone else entirely — or one at home — these are still the right questions. We would rather you go somewhere good than come to us uninformed.
Legal and health-tourism authorisations
What we check
That the clinic holds the licences required to operate and to treat international patients, verified against the issuing authority rather than taken from the clinic's own website.
Why it matters to you
An unlicensed provider leaves you with no regulator to turn to. A logo on a homepage is not evidence; a reference number that can be checked is.
Named dentists and documented qualifications
What we check
The identity, registration and qualifications of the dentists who would actually treat you — not a generic 'our expert team'.
Why it matters to you
You are entitled to know who is putting instruments in your mouth and what they are qualified to do. If a clinic will not name them before you travel, that is the answer.
Clear treatment responsibilities
What we check
That the clinic will state in writing which clinician is responsible for each part of your treatment.
Why it matters to you
When several people are involved and nobody is named, problems get passed around. A named responsible clinician is who you go back to.
Diagnostic process
What we check
That diagnosis follows examination and imaging, not photographs sent by message.
Why it matters to you
A treatment plan produced from phone photos is a sales estimate. Real diagnosis requires seeing what is under the gum and inside the tooth.
Radiography and imaging standards
What we check
The imaging available on site, when 3D scanning is used, and how radiation exposure is justified and recorded.
Why it matters to you
Some treatments — full-arch implants in particular — cannot be planned safely without 3D imaging. Its absence tells you how the planning is being done.
Implant and material traceability
What we check
That you are told which implant system and which materials were used, in writing, with batch or reference details where applicable.
Why it matters to you
If something needs attention in five years, a dentist at home must know what is in your jaw. An unidentifiable implant can be effectively unserviceable.
Sterilisation and infection control
What we check
Documented decontamination procedures, sterilisation equipment, and records showing the process is monitored rather than assumed.
Why it matters to you
This is invisible to patients and cannot be assessed on a tour. Records exist precisely because trust alone is not sufficient.
Laboratory standards
What we check
Which laboratory produces crowns, veneers and bridges, whether it is in-house or external, and what materials it works with.
Why it matters to you
The technician making your restoration has as much influence on the result as the dentist fitting it. Clinics that cannot name their laboratory are unusual.
Written treatment plans
What we check
That every patient receives a written plan setting out the diagnosis, proposed treatment, materials, stages and price before treatment begins.
Why it matters to you
A verbal plan cannot be checked, compared or held to. If it is not written down, it was not agreed.
Transparent inclusions and exclusions
What we check
That the plan states explicitly what the price covers and, just as importantly, what it does not.
Why it matters to you
Most disputes about cost are disputes about exclusions. Extractions, grafting, temporaries and follow-up appointments are the usual culprits.
Complaint escalation
What we check
A documented complaints procedure, including who handles complaints and what happens if you are not satisfied with the response.
Why it matters to you
Every clinic has unhappy patients occasionally. What distinguishes them is whether there is a route beyond the person who caused the problem.
Revision policy
What we check
What the clinic will and will not put right, over what period, and whether revision requires you to travel back at your own cost.
Why it matters to you
A revision policy that requires an unfunded return flight is considerably less valuable than it first appears. Establish this before treatment, not after.
Aftercare policy
What we check
What clinical aftercare is provided, for how long, and how it works once you are back in your own country.
Why it matters to you
Aftercare is where treatment abroad most often breaks down. The question is not whether it is offered but how it functions across a border.
International-patient coordination
What we check
Whether the clinic has a working process for patients who are not local — scheduling, languages, and continuity of contact.
Why it matters to you
A clinic excellent with local patients may have no process for someone with four days in the country and a flight home.
Patient-record handling
What we check
How clinical records, images and personal data are stored, who has access, and whether you can obtain copies of your own records.
Why it matters to you
Your records follow you. You will need them if you ever change dentist, and you are entitled to them.
Emergency-contact process
What we check
Who you contact out of hours during treatment, and what happens if there is a problem the night before your flight.
Why it matters to you
Problems do not restrict themselves to office hours, and being abroad removes your usual fallbacks.
Disqualifying signals
What would make us walk away.
- Credentials that cannot be verified with the issuing body
- Pressure to commit or pay before adequate records exist
- Treatment plans produced from photographs alone
- Vague or shifting answers about materials and implant systems
- Promises made verbally that do not appear in the written plan
- Price explanations that change between conversations
- No documented process for problems arising after a patient goes home
- Unwillingness to put responsibilities in writing
- Discouraging patients from seeking a second opinion
We are not claiming to have rejected clinics for these reasons — we have not yet completed a selection, and saying otherwise would be exactly the kind of unverifiable claim this page exists to argue against. These are the criteria we will apply.
Use this yourself
Questions worth asking any clinic.
- Who exactly will treat me, and what are their qualifications?
- Will I get a written treatment plan before I commit to anything?
- What does the price include, and what does it specifically exclude?
- Which implant system or materials will you use?
- What happens if something goes wrong after I fly home?
- What is your revision policy, and who pays for travel if I need one?
- Can I have a copy of my records and images?
- Who do I contact out of hours while I am in the country?
Start with a preliminary plan. Decide when you are ready.
A preliminary plan costs nothing and commits you to nothing. It simply gives you a clearer picture of the options and the questions worth asking next.
Dental Anchor is not a dental clinic. Clinical assessments, diagnoses and treatments are provided by licensed partner clinics and dentists in Türkiye.