One woman who went over to Turkey to get her teeth done has said she's living "in terrible pain" every day since.

Denise has had to return to Turkey numerous times because of infections.

She said the price of the procedure in Turkey was almost €6,000, whereas in Ireland the same work would have cost her over €20,000.

Denise told Lunchtime Live she decided to treat herself after lockdown, and spend her life savings to get her teeth done.

"I got speaking to the owner of a company, the lady in question contacted me and we spoke through WhatsApp," she said.

"We made a phone call the next day... and I says, 'Before I even go down this road, what happens if something goes wrong?'

"And she assured me if anything goes wrong we can bring you back and sort out the problem."

Turkey trip

Denise went over to Turkey in August 2021 for the treatment, but started to experience pain a few weeks after she got home.

"I contacted the company, let them know... there was actually a hole in one of the gums," she said.

"They were saying, 'Don't worry, that's going to close up.'

"A few months went by, I was still experiencing pain... they gave in after five months and said, 'We'll get you back in January'.

"They paid for the flights and the accommodation; they put me into a hotel - dogs was staying in the hotel.

"There was a karaoke bar, so there was a constant party till 5/6am in the morning every night.

"I didn't sleep for the whole time I was there, I was in agony."

Denise said she was eventually moved to a different hotel and had more work performed on her teeth and gums.

Infection spreading

Denise was then sent home and told her treatment was finished, except for a check-up later in the year.

"I went home, the same thing happened; I started experiencing pain a couple of weeks later," she said.

"I could actually feel the infection spreading across my gums.

"It was like a tiddling feeling going from one side to the other, sometimes stopping in the middle.

"My mouth was constantly swollen".

Black spots

Denise said she was told to keep using salt and water and taking antibiotics.

When she went back in May for a check-up, black spots were found inside her teeth.

The dentist suggested these could be caused by medication Denise was taking.

"I said I'm actually not taking medication... so that's not why I have the black spots," she said.

"Then I was over there and they done loads more work.

"Then they says, 'This is all done now, you can go home, everything's complete'.

"So, I signed the forms and went home; a couple of weeks later the same thing happened.

"This pain was the worst of it all."

Next steps

Denise said she was back in touch with the dentist in Turkey, and she received a letter last week.

"The letter states we will no longer be helping you," she said.

Denise said she will not go back to Turkey "ever again" and will need to find an Irish dentist to help her.

"I went in to speak to a dentist about sorting out the infection up at the top, and he was saying you're looking at root canal," she said.

"The root canal is very hard to do if you have crowns because it can crack the crown.

"It's very unlikely that root canals are going to work, and then you're looking at getting implants.

"You're talking thousands, thousands that I don't have.

"I don't know what I'm going to do; I was promised a dream and I received a nightmare," she added.

Listen back here: