Why your implant plan may involve two dentists

When you picture implant treatment, you probably picture the surgery: the anaesthetic, the drill, the titanium post. That part is important, but it is quick. What you live with for the next fifteen years is the tooth, or row of teeth, on top. In many Turkish clinics, those two parts are handled by different dentists.

The two halves of implant treatment

The surgical half

Removing failing teeth, preparing the bone, placing the implants, adding bone grafts or sinus lifts where needed, and stitching. This is done by an oral surgeon, a periodontist or a general dentist with implant training.

The prosthetic half

Planning where the teeth should be, taking impressions or digital scans, designing the temporary and final teeth, checking your bite, and fitting the final crowns or bridge. This is done by a dentist with prosthetic skills, often a prosthodontist, working with a dental technician.

Ideally the plan starts from the teeth: where they need to be for a good bite and a natural look. The implants are then placed to support those teeth. When surgery and prosthetics are planned separately, implants can end up in places that make the final teeth harder to design or clean.

Why Turkish clinics often split the work

Larger clinics have dentists with different training. It makes sense for a surgeon to do the operations and a prosthodontist to design and fit the teeth. In smaller clinics, one dentist may do both. Neither model is wrong. The risk is in a split where nobody is clearly in charge.

How to check both dentists

1. Ask for the names of the dentist who will place the implants and the dentist who will make and fit the teeth.
2. Look both up on the HealthTürkiye register.
3. Check their branches. A prosthodontics branch for the teeth and a surgical, periodontal or implant-focused background for the surgery is a good pattern.
4. Ask which of them is responsible for the overall plan.
5. Ask whether both will be there on your second trip.

The questions that reveal teamwork

• Do you plan the position of the implants from a digital design of the final teeth?
• Will I see my planned teeth before surgery, as a design or a mock-up?
• Who decides the material of the final bridge?
• If my bite feels wrong after the final fit, who adjusts it?

A team that works well together will answer these easily. A vague answer, or each dentist pointing to the other, is a warning sign.

Full-arch treatment raises the stakes

For All-on-4 or All-on-6 style treatment, the prosthetic plan is especially important. The final bridge has to give you a good bite, a natural smile, clear speech and gaps you can clean under. See our pages on All-on-6 dentists and prosthodontists for dentists we have checked.

How digital planning connects the two

Many clinics now plan implants on a computer. A 3D scan of your jaw (CBCT) is combined with a digital model of your teeth. The dentist designs the final teeth first, then positions the implants in the software to support them. Some clinics print a surgical guide that helps place the implants exactly where planned. When the surgeon and the prosthetic dentist both use the same digital plan, the split between them matters less.

Ask whether your implants will be planned this way, and whether you can see the plan.

Temporary teeth: a shared responsibility

Between trips you will usually have temporary teeth. They protect the implants while they heal and let you test the shape of your new smile. If the temporaries break, rub or feel wrong, both the surgeon (are the implants healing?) and the prosthetic dentist (is the design right?) may need to be involved. Ask who you should contact.

Records for both halves

When you go home, take records of both parts of the treatment: the implant system, sizes and positions from the surgery, and the materials and design of your teeth from the prosthetics. A UK dentist will need both to look after you.

An example of a split team

Dentoper Fethiye, one of the clinics in this guide, lists an associate professor of oral surgery, Zeynep Çukurova Yılmaz, and a dentist with a PhD in prosthodontics, Özge Aydoğ Schennikov. A clinic with that mix could divide implant surgery and prosthetic work between them. We do not know how any individual case is divided there; that is exactly the question to ask any clinic you consider.

Questions to ask each dentist

When one dentist doing both is an advantage

When the same dentist places the implants and designs the teeth, decisions are made in one head. There is no hand-over, and the person who fits your final bridge knows exactly how the surgery went. Many general dentists who focus on implants work this way. The trade-off is that one person needs both sets of skills. Ask about their experience with each.

When a team is an advantage

For complex cases, such as severe bone loss, a history of failed implants or a whole new bite, combining a surgeon’s and a prosthodontist’s training can be a real benefit. What makes it work is a shared plan and clear responsibility. Ask who signs off the plan, and who you contact afterwards.

A checklist for the hand-over

• Both dentists are named in your written plan.
• Both are on the HealthTürkiye register at the clinic.
• One of them is clearly responsible for the overall plan.
• You know who to contact about pain (surgery) and about a broken tooth (prosthetics).
• You leave with the implant details and the bridge design in writing.

If all five are true, a split team is working as it should.

Your next steps

1. Ask the clinic, in writing, for the names of the dentist who will place your implants and the dentist who will design and fit your teeth.
2. Look both up on HealthTürkiye and on the clinic’s website, and note their branches. A prosthodontics branch for the teeth and a surgical, periodontal or implant-focused background for the surgery is a good pattern.
3. Ask whether your implant positions will be planned from a design of the final teeth, and whether you can see that plan before surgery.
4. Ask which of the two is responsible if something goes wrong, and who you should message about pain or a broken tooth after you get home.
5. Before you fly home from each trip, collect the implant details and the design of your teeth in writing for your UK dentist.

Our prosthodontists and implant dentists pages list dentists with each background.

Our own set-up

At Precious Dental, which publishes this guide, our top pick Dt. Hüseyin Yavuz Özbek works on both implant surgery and prosthetics, so one dentist can plan both the implants and the teeth. Whichever clinic you choose, ask in writing which dentist will do each stage.

Common questions

Is it better if one dentist does everything?

Not necessarily. What matters is that someone is clearly responsible for the whole plan and that the two dentists work together.

Who is responsible if my bridge breaks?

Ask before you book. Usually the clinic is responsible, but you should know which dentist will assess the problem.

What is a prosthodontist?

A specialist in replacing teeth: crowns, bridges, dentures and implant teeth.

Will the same dentists see me on my second trip?

Ask. Continuity matters, especially for full-arch treatment.

Sources

1. HealthTürkiye: health professionals
2. NHS: treatment abroad checklist

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