How we built this ranking

“Best dentist” lists are everywhere, and most do not explain how they were made. Ours is published by a clinic, which is a good reason to explain more, not less. Here is what we did.

Step 1: choosing where to look

We wanted a national guide, not another Antalya list (for Antalya clinics, see bestdentistsinantalya.com). So we looked at clinics in Istanbul, Izmir and the Aegean resorts of Kuşadası, Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye that treat international patients and are listed on HealthTürkiye. We gave priority to clinics that name their dentists on their websites.

Step 2: two conditions for every dentist

A dentist was included only if they appeared:

1. On HealthTürkiye’s health professionals register, at the clinic; and
2. On the clinic’s own website, by name.

That excluded dentists we could not tie to a public record, and it excluded invented or anonymous “experts”, which some ranking sites use.

Step 3: five checks

For each dentist we looked for five facts in public: dental school, year qualified, field of work, a CV or Turkish Dental Association number, and the clinic’s review record. We gave a point only when we found the evidence ourselves, and we linked to it. The details are in how we rank.

Step 4: reviews on one day

We read each clinic’s Google rating and review count on the same day, through a data service, and recorded Trustpilot where a clinic has a page. Reading them on one day keeps the comparison fair.

Step 5: ordering

Our own dentist, Dt. Hüseyin Yavuz Özbek, is our top pick and comes first, labelled as such. Everyone else is ordered by checks passed, then by the title on the register, then by years in practice. We did not move anyone by hand. See meet our top pick.

What we chose not to do

• Give scores for skill or quality. We cannot see inside anyone’s surgery.
• Quote or summarise individual patient reviews about other dentists.
• Invent dentists, photos, awards or statistics.
• Accept payment from anyone listed.

Why we chose public checks rather than scores

Many ranking sites give dentists scores out of ten or a hundred. Those numbers look precise, but they usually mix facts with opinion, and readers cannot check how they were made. We chose yes-or-no checks, each with a link to the evidence, because anyone can repeat them. If you disagree with our result for a dentist, you can open the sources and see exactly why we gave or did not give a point.

Why our own dentist is first

We are a clinic, and this site is part of how we reach patients. We put our own dentist first and label him “Our top pick” wherever he appears, with the factual reasons. We do not pretend the order is independent, and we do not hide it in small print. The rest of the order follows the method, including where it puts other dentists ahead of ours on academic title or review numbers.

What we would like to add

• More cities, including Ankara’s university hospitals.
• More dentists at clinics that publish their teams.
• Updates as dentists move clinics or finish specialist training.

If you are a dentist who meets the two conditions and would like to be considered, contact us with links to your register entry and profile.

An example: how one dentist was assessed

Take Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Çukurova Yılmaz at Dentoper Fethiye. On HealthTürkiye she is listed as an associate professor in the Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery branch at a clinic with authorisation ST-3712. Her clinic’s website names her and gives a detailed CV, including her dental degree from Yeditepe University (2011) and her doctorate in oral surgery. Her clinic had a 5.0 Google rating from 787 reviews on the day we checked. So she passed all five checks, and among dentists with five points her associate professor title placed her near the top.

Every profile in this guide follows the same pattern, with each source linked.

An example of a dash

Take Dr. Halit Hamza at Dentistanbul in Istanbul. The register lists him as a specialist in prosthodontics, and the hospital’s website names him as a prosthetics specialist. But we did not find his dental school, graduation year or a CV published, and his clinic’s Google rating, 3.8 from 451 reviews on the day we checked, was below our threshold. So he has dashes against those checks. That does not mean his training is in doubt; it means it is not published where you can see it. His profile says what to ask.

Why we check reviews at clinic level

Google and Trustpilot pages belong to clinics, not to individual dentists. We could have tried to count reviews mentioning each dentist by name, but that would have meant interpreting reviews, which we cannot do fairly. Instead we record the clinic’s figures and say plainly that they describe the clinic. Our guide to reading reviews explains how you can look for your own dentist’s name.

Keeping it current

Dentists move, finish training and change clinics. Each profile shows the date we checked it. When a dentist or clinic sends a source showing a change, we update the page and the date. If a dentist no longer appears on the register at their clinic, we remove or update their profile.

What you can do with the method

You do not have to use our ranking. You can use the method on any dentist you are considering: look them up on the register, check their clinic’s website for school, year and field, ask for a CV or TDB number, and look at the clinic’s reviews. That takes about twenty minutes and tells you a great deal.

Questions readers have asked us

“Why not just list the clinics with the most reviews?” Because review counts mostly measure how busy and how active in asking for reviews a clinic is. They say little about the individual dentist. We include a review check, but only as one of five.

“Why not include every dentist on the register?” The register lists many dentists who never treat international patients, and many whose clinics do not publish anything about them. We started with those UK patients are likely to consider and who are named publicly.

“Isn’t putting your own dentist first unfair?” It is a choice we make openly, as the publisher, and label everywhere. The rest of the ranking follows the same rules for everyone, including where they put other dentists ahead of ours on title or reviews.

Your next steps

1. Read the full method.
2. Open two or three dentist profiles and follow the source links yourself.
3. Use the same checks on any dentist you are considering who is not in the guide.
4. If you find a mistake, tell us.

We would rather you trusted the sources than trusted us. That is the whole point of building the ranking this way, and it is why every profile shows the date we checked it and a link to each fact.

Limits

The guide is not complete. Records change. Some excellent dentists do not publish their training, so they score lower here than they might deserve. If you are one of them, send us a source and we will update your page.

Common questions

Is every dentist in Turkey in the ranking?

No. It covers dentists we have checked so far. It is not a complete list.

Can a dentist ask to be added?

Yes, if they are on the HealthTürkiye register and named on their clinic’s website. Send us the links.

Did any clinic know they were being listed?

No. We used only public information and did not contact them first.

Will the ranking change?

Yes, as we check more dentists and as facts change. Every page shows its date.

Sources

1. HealthTürkiye: health professionals
2. HealthTürkiye: health facility list

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