Finding a Turkish dentist on the HealthTürkiye register

Most UK patients have heard that they should “check the clinic is licensed”. Fewer know that the same official portal also lets you look up individual dentists. This walk-through shows what you will see and how to interpret it. It takes about ten minutes, and it is the single most useful check you can do before you book.

What HealthTürkiye is

HealthTürkiye is the Turkish Ministry of Health’s portal for people travelling to Türkiye for treatment. It lists health facilities that are authorised to treat international patients, and it lists health professionals who work at those facilities. Clinic records show an authorisation number, usually written as ST- followed by digits. Professional records show a person’s title and branch.

The portal is in several languages. The English version translates some Turkish titles in ways that can confuse UK readers, which we explain below.

Step 1: open the health professionals section

From the main menu choose Health Professionals. You can filter by city and branch, but the quickest route is to type the dentist’s surname in the search box.

Step 2: search the way Turkish names are written

Turkish uses letters that English does not: ş, ç, ğ, ı (a dotless i), ö and ü. The register stores names with these letters, and sometimes with unusual capitalisation. If “Ozbek” finds nothing, try “Özbek”. If a long double-barrelled surname finds nothing, try just one part of it. Women often use a maiden name and a married name together, and either may be listed first.

Step 3: read the record

A dentist’s record usually shows:

Step 4: open the clinic record

Click through to the facility. Its record shows the legal name (often something like “Özel … Ağız ve Diş Sağlığı Polikliniği”, meaning a private oral and dental health clinic), the address, the year it was founded, its authorisation number and how many professionals are listed. Check the address matches the clinic you are talking to. Brands and legal names often differ, and some groups run several branches with similar names.

Step 5: note what is missing

The register does not show everything. It will not normally tell you the dentist’s university, graduation year, the courses they have taken or how many implants they have placed. For those, look at the clinic’s website and ask the clinic. In our ranking method, we give points for exactly these published details, because they let you check a dentist’s background yourself.

A worked example

Our top pick, Dt. Hüseyin Yavuz Özbek, is on the register as a dentist in the Oral and Dental Health branch at Precious Dental, whose authorisation number is ST-4647. His profile on our clinic’s website gives his dental school and graduation year, and his Turkish Dental Association number. You can see his entry in this guide on his profile page, with links to both sources. We publish this guide, so you should check those links rather than take our word for it.

What to do if things do not match

• The dentist is registered at a different clinic. Ask why. They may work at two clinics, or may have moved and the record is out of date.
• The title on the website is higher than the title on the register. A clinic website calling someone “specialist” when the register says “Dentist” is worth a question. Sometimes training has just finished; sometimes it is marketing.
• The dentist does not appear at all. Not every dentist is listed. Ask the clinic for their exact registered name and their Turkish Dental Association number.

Common things that confuse UK readers

Several features of the register catch people out the first time:

• Capital letters in odd places. Names are sometimes stored in a mix of upper and lower case, with Turkish dotted and dotless i’s, so “HÜseyİn” and “Hüseyin” can both appear. That is a data-entry habit, not a sign of a fake record.
• Several clinics with one brand. Groups with branches in different cities may have similar legal names, numbered 1, 2 or 3. Check the address and city.
• Doctors and dentists together. The register covers all health professionals. A dental clinic may also list a medical doctor, for example an anaesthetist who gives sedation.
• Branch names that look medical. “Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery” is a dental speciality, not plastic surgery.

Using the register alongside the clinic’s website

The register and the clinic’s own website complement each other. The register is official but brief; the website is detailed but written by the clinic. When both agree on a dentist’s name, title and clinic, you can be reasonably confident about the basics. When they disagree, you have a specific question to ask. In this guide we only list dentists who appear on both, and we link to both on every dentist profile.

What to do next

1. Note the dentist’s title and branch, and compare them with the treatment you need, using our titles guide.
2. Check the dentist’s clinic profile for dental school, year and training.
3. Ask for anything missing: a CV and a TDB number.
4. Compare with our profiles, where we have done these steps for 30 dentists and linked every source.

Why this matters in UK terms

In the UK you would check a dentist on the GDC register. GOV.UK’s Turkey health advice notes that standards of medical facilities can vary widely, and points medical tourists to further guidance. HealthTürkiye is the closest official equivalent for international patients in Türkiye, so it is the place to start.

Common questions when the record looks odd

The experience figure seems too high. It may count from graduation, or include work elsewhere. Compare it with the graduation year on the clinic’s site.

There is no photo. Many records have none. That is not a concern by itself.

The dentist appears at two clinics. Some dentists work at more than one. Ask which they will treat you at.

Your next steps

1. Get the full names of your dentists from the clinic.
2. Search each one on HealthTürkiye and take a dated screenshot.
3. Open the clinic record and check the address and authorisation number.
4. Ask for anything the register does not show.

Once you have done this for one dentist, it takes only a few minutes for the next. Many patients check every dentist named in their plan, and that is a good habit.

Keep a record

Take screenshots of the dentist’s record and the clinic’s record, with the date. If anything goes wrong later, you will know exactly who was registered where when you booked. Then move on to the questions only the dentist can answer, which we cover in how to check a Turkish dentist.

Common questions

Is HealthTürkiye an official government site?

Yes. It is the Turkish Ministry of Health’s portal for international patients, run with the tourism ministry.

Why can’t I find my dentist?

Try the surname without Turkish characters, or with the first name. If they still do not appear, ask the clinic for the exact spelling of the name on the register.

What does ‘Oral and Dental Health’ mean as a branch?

It is the general dentistry branch. A specialist usually shows a named branch, such as Prosthodontics or Periodontology.

Does being on the register mean the dentist is good?

No. It means they are recorded at an authorised clinic. It is a minimum check, not a quality score.

Sources

1. HealthTürkiye: health professionals
2. HealthTürkiye: health facility list
3. Turkish Dental Association
4. GOV.UK: Turkey travel advice, health

Checked October 2026. Where we give our own view as a clinic, we say so.