A Dental Holiday in Turkey
Many patients describe their trip as a dental holiday, and that is a fair description as long as the recovery side is planned properly. Marmaris is a sheltered bay with a long promenade, pine-covered hills and a large choice of restaurants — a comfortable place to spend a week while your treatment is finished, provided you build in rest days around it.
The honest caveat: a dental holiday is not quite an ordinary holiday. Depending on the treatment, the first day or two after an appointment are about letting your body settle rather than sightseeing. Plan it the right way round and the rest of the week feels like a holiday.
What the week looks like
For a crowns case, appointments typically occupy three or four mornings: examination and preparation, then intermediate fittings, then the final fitting. The afternoons and the days in between are yours. The laboratory work is the reason for the gaps.
For implant surgery, the pattern is different. Surgery day and the day after are rest days, with ice, soft food and limited activity. Most patients feel well enough for gentle walks and restaurants within two or three days, and comfortable enough for a boat trip or a drive along the coast by the end of the week — though we would always advise asking your dentist before doing anything strenuous.
What you can and cannot do
Treatments affect the answers here, so treat the following as general guidance rather than a rule for your case.
- Swimming and the sea: fine before treatment and after crowns. Avoid for about a week after extractions or implant surgery, and avoid pools and hot tubs entirely while sockets are healing.
- Sun: use lip balm with SPF and avoid direct sun on a healing area. Sun exposure on freshly treated gums is uncomfortable and slows healing.
- Food and drink: soft, lukewarm food after surgery; avoid very hot drinks, alcohol and smoking for at least 72 hours, and ideally longer.
- Exercise: walking is good. Swimming, gym work and watersports wait until your dentist clears you.
Not sure which treatment applies to you? A coordinator will go through it with you.
Marmaris while you are here
The town is compact and walkable, with a marina, a castle, an old bazaar and a long seafront promenade where most of the restaurants sit. Days out inland — the Dalyan river, İçmeler, Selimiye, or the ruins at Kaunos — are easy to arrange and comfortable by car.
Accommodation in SmileOver packages is arranged around the clinic, so appointments are a short transfer rather than a day's excursion. If you are travelling with a companion, or want a particular style of hotel, say so when you enquire and it can be built into the plan.
Planning the timing
The best weeks are those outside the hottest part of summer if you are having surgery, and outside school holidays if you would rather avoid the busiest flights. Give yourself one clear day at the end of the trip with nothing scheduled — it is the day most useful for any final adjustment.
For a sense of how a treatment trip is structured day by day, read how dental tourism works, or ask a coordinator about your dates.
A Dental Holiday in Turkey: questions patients ask
Can I go in the sea after dental treatment?
Not immediately after extractions or implant placement — usually about a week. After crowns and veneers there is normally no restriction.
Will I be in pain during the holiday part of the trip?
Crowns and veneers usually cause mild sensitivity rather than pain. After implant surgery, expect swelling and soreness for two to four days, managed with the medication your dentist prescribes.
Can my partner or family come with me?
Yes. We can arrange accommodation for two, and family members can explore while you are in an appointment. Read our notes on not [travelling alone for treatment](/dental-treatment-turkey-without-flying-alone).
Is it better to treat a dental holiday as a holiday?
Treat it as a trip with a clinical purpose and a rest day built in. Patients who schedule tours for the day after surgery are the ones who find the week tiring.
How long should I book the hotel for?
Crowns cases: six or seven nights. Implant surgery: at least seven, to allow a settled flight home. We book accommodation to match your appointment dates.
What is there to do in Marmaris between appointments?
The promenade, marina and old town are all within walking distance, and boat trips, the Dalyan river and the local markets are easy half-days. Ask your coordinator for suggestions suited to your recovery stage.
Thinking about dental treatment in Turkey?
Speak to the SmileOver team about your individual requirements. We will tell you which treatments are likely to suit you, what a realistic timeline looks like, and what the cost would be — in writing, before you commit to anything.
No guarantees are made about results, and no medical advice is given before an assessment. Everything on this page is general information for UK patients.
How to read this page
SmileOver is a coordination service. We arrange consultations, written treatment plans, airport and clinic transfers, accommodation and aftercare contact for patients travelling from the UK and elsewhere.
Clinical care — diagnosis, treatment planning and the treatment itself — is provided by the independent dental clinic and its registered dentists in Turkey. SmileOver does not practise dentistry and does not decide which treatment you need.
Every page here is general information, not medical advice. Your dentist will assess your own teeth, and treatment varies between patients. No outcome is guaranteed and no treatment is suitable for everyone.
Related reading for UK patients
More detail on the questions that come up most often, and the pages that explain how treatment with SmileOver is organised.