Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram or reluctantly watching Love Island, we’re sure you’ve come across it. A dazzling fresh set of pearl white veneers. Once known as Hollywood smiles, they now earn their nickname “turkey teeth” because of where they are commonly sourced.
Alongside popular cosmetic procedures such as rhinoplasty, breast implants, BBL, and Botox, a dazzling set of these synthetic gnashers has been a favorite of many British influencers and reality stars for some time now. It’s their looks, and they’re leading their followers, untainted by fame, on a journey. We can achieve the same splendor overseas at a lower cost.
The pursuit of surgical procedures such as this is changing the face of travel as we know it. Official figures on overseas medical travelers are not available, but the Office for National Statistics estimates that 248,000 UK residents traveled abroad for medical purposes in 2019, up from 120,000 in 2015. doing. Meanwhile, subjective evidence shows that these numbers continue to increase. No wonder. Compared to the cost of beauty treatment in the UK, the cost of beauty treatment abroad is significantly lower and can be easily accessed even by Britons who are barely able to return to their home country.
love island effect
It’s not just the ubiquity of these dazzling champers that shows the popularity of cosmetic tourism is skyrocketing. London’s transport network TfL came under fire last year for running controversial advertisements for cheap breast implants and dental treatments overseas. And there are a huge number of people who video blog and post online about their experiences with cosmetic surgery abroad. People seeking surgery head to places like Turkije, Croatia and Eastern Europe and return with dazzling smiles on their faces. Butt, boobs, stomach.
At least anecdotally, there is a clear connection between our increased interest in these treatments and what we are exposed to through screens. Searches for “turkey teeth” skyrocketed overnight after Islander Jess Harding described her type as “a cute boy with turkey teeth” in June when this summer’s season of Love Island aired. It has reportedly increased by a whopping 10,000 percent.
And it’s not just girls. Many of the men Jess Harding follows also head overseas for dental treatment or surgery. Hair transplantation is quickly becoming the most popular surgery for men, with up to a million people flocking to Turkiye each year to obtain newly created hair follicles that will eventually grow into a brand new head of hair.
It is generally recognized that people are increasingly at risk of being tempted to book extremely cheap and ultra-quick procedures abroad in order to keep up with rapidly changing trends. But is this really the case?
To keep up with rapidly changing trends, more and more people are booking very cheap and super fast procedures abroad.
Janae Hunter, 25, from Croydon, London, first started considering cosmetic surgery seven years ago after the birth of her child, and finally took the plunge in October last year. “It took me a very long time to think about it,” she says. “I was looking into clinics in the UK to see if I could get funding options, but they didn’t have very good credit so I considered going overseas.” The content creator said: I decided to get a tummy tuck done with 360 Lipo. This is a popular procedure for post-pregnancy women to tighten the abdomen and remove excess fat from the armpits, back and stomach.
‘I chose [Türkiye] “I looked up the prices in the UK and they were ridiculously high,” she says. A tummy tuck costs between £5,000 and £10,000 in the UK, while a 360 Lipo costs over £7,000. That adds up to a hefty bill. Although Hunter had read all the horror stories of foreign procedures gone awry, she ultimately believed her research was in a good position to proceed wisely.
Although there are endless options for hotel packages and clinics, she settled on Medaway, one of the largest cosmetic travel companies in Turkiye. The total cost of the package she chose includes the surgery, an all-inclusive luxury Istanbul hotel, car transportation between the hotel and the surgery, accompanying her friend on the trip, and costs her It cost her only £4,800. She was in.
risk and reward
By all accounts, Hunter’s week-long trip went like a well-oiled machine. “My results are honestly amazing,” she says. In addition to the successful surgery, the clinical facilities were hygienic, the staff professional and caring, and the hotel surprisingly luxurious. “The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the aftercare after I returned to the UK, but now I have no worries at all.”
Although Hunter had a good experience, he did not speak to the surgeon until he arrived at Tourquier. Contrary to the “strong” advice of the Royal College of Surgeons that patients should wait at least two weeks between consultation and surgery, Mr Hunter had his first consultation on arrival and underwent surgery the next day. He was also asked to pay in cash, which he did.
But even with so many success stories circulating on the For You feed, we can’t ignore the media’s portrayal of unsafe hygiene practices, failed outcomes, and shock deaths. At least 25 British medical tourists have died after undergoing surgery in Turkiye since 2019, including 31-year-old Melissa Kerr. The Brazilian man who died after undergoing butt lift surgery in 2019 was recently in the news when the UK announced that officials would travel to Turkiye for regulatory consultations.
Medical tourism boom in Turkiye
Meanwhile, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons says there has been a 94% increase in the number of British tourists undergoing orthodontic surgery and dental treatment in the past three years, with more than three-quarters of these procedures taking place in Tourquier. . Even just in the past six months.
In November, it was announced that Turkiye is on track to overtake France to become Europe’s second most popular destination, thanks to Turkey’s booming medical tourism industry. The statistics speak for themselves. In 2022, Turkiye will host 1.2 million medical tourists, and it is estimated that medical tourism currently brings in £2 billion to the country each year. It would be easy to think there is a bright side to all this. This means that destinations like Turkiye are thriving thanks to all these tourists. In a struggling economy plagued by 61% inflation, is this influx of foreign capital even more welcome?
For Antalya
Sinan Baran Bayar, a sustainable tourism expert from Antalya (Turkiye is the second most popular cosmetic tourist destination after Istanbul), immediately burst my bubble. “The economic situation in Turkiye is not good,” he says. “Many of my family members, including myself, work in the tourism industry. And while it may seem lucrative, those of us who live in the city feel like second-class citizens. .”
Bayar said Antalya has long been a tourist center, but the influx of tourists, mainly British and German, has changed the shape of the city in all aspects, and things have intensified in recent years. He explains.
First of all, there is constant traffic and the streets are not overwhelmed by wounded and bandaged foreigners. And new dental clinics, hair transplant centers, spas, and nail salons are constantly opening. All of this caters to the needs of well-funded tourists that are completely out of reach of those who actually live locally. (This sums up the universal and eternal downside of living in a place popular with wealthy travelers).
Photo: Shutterstock
A further problem for residents and beauty tourists is that many of Turkiei’s best surgeons and doctors have left the country in search of better opportunities, lowering the standard of care overall or simply going public in favor of public health care. This means that they are turning their backs on medical care. This is yet another bad news for the Turkish people.
Bayar is generous. “I love the British,” he says. “It’s not a problem that they come here often. The problem is that there are too many of them.” He said Turkiye’s growing health tourism sector, if left unchecked, will reduce the number of people roaming the earth. and predicts that it will continue to cause major problems for residents as well.
The best path forward remains unclear, with so much uncertainty surrounding both the outcome of the surgery and the mitigation of the wider impact of cosmetic tourism on local culture and economies. As long as unattainable beauty and body shape trends continue to emerge and our insecurities adapt and change with them, the prospect of flying overseas in search of an affordable and quick surgical upgrade will remain It will continue to be a temptation. But if you’re looking to book a trip, make sure you do your research, take the time to consider whether surgery is really your best option, and think carefully about the impact it will have on the country you’re staying in. is important. Traveling to.
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