Attractive all-inclusive packages, the promise of a snow-white "Hollywood smile" in just a few days, and prices as much as 50-70 percent lower than in Poland – these are the tempting features of foreign dental clinics, especially in Turkey. Medical aesthetic tourism is breaking records in popularity, but its endgame is increasingly reflected in the offices of local oral surgeons and... on the desks of legal advisors and attorneys. Patients, tempted by the prospect of a quick and affordable makeover, often return with irreversible dental damage, facing immense pain and the specter of expensive corrective treatment. What legal and medical risks does this trend entail, and what does the fight for compensation look like?
"Hollywood smile" versus biological reality
The main problem with so-called "Turkish teeth" isn't always a lack of technical skill, but rather the philosophy, pace, and mass scale of the procedures performed there. While in Poland the planning process for prosthetic reconstruction, root canal treatment, and inflammation stabilization can take weeks or even months, in medical tourism, time is of the essence.
Patients are undergoing radical procedures at lightning speed – during a mere week-long stay, up to 20 teeth are often prepared simultaneously for crowns or veneers. Dentists and oral surgeons are warning: in order to achieve the perfect aesthetic result, completely healthy teeth are being drastically and irreversibly altered.
A traditional crown is intended to replace a damaged tooth (e.g., after root canal treatment). Meanwhile, many clinics abroad resort to mass grinding of living, healthy tissue, stripping it of its natural protective layer (enamel) and drastically reducing its natural size. Attaching crowns to heavily ground, living teeth causes permanent irritation, which quickly leads to pulp death, acute inflammation under the restoration, excruciating pain, and, in extreme cases, the need for tooth extraction (removal) and complex surgical procedures.
The visual effect immediately after the procedure can be spectacular, but complications most often develop after returning to the country – from several weeks to several months after the procedure.
The lack of an EU protective shield – a key jurisdictional problem
In the event of defective or poorly conducted dental treatment in Poland, the patient's legal situation is clear. They are protected by the provisions of the Civil Code and the Act on Patients' Rights and the Patient Ombudsman. The injured party has the right to demand compensation (including coverage of the enormous costs of corrective treatment) and redress for the harm, pain, and suffering suffered from the doctor, medical facility, or their insurer under mandatory third-party liability insurance (OC).
The situation changes dramatically when the error occurs in Turkey. Because the country is not a member of the European Union, injured patients are completely deprived of the protections of EU consumer law and the simplifications available in cross-border disputes.
Within the European Union, Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (so-called Brussels Ia) is in force. These regulations take into account the fact that the injured patient is usually weaker organizationally, economically, and informationally than the insurer. They allow for a lawsuit to be brought directly against the insurer of a healthcare facility in the court of the patient's place of residence (e.g., a court in Poland), provided the insurer is based in a Member State. The goal is simple: to avoid a situation in which the injured party would have to litigate in a foreign country.
In Turkey, these privileges do not apply. Patients must pursue claims directly in Turkey, and Turkish law alone applies to assessing the grounds for medical error and the amount of potential compensation.
Procedural barriers to compensation in Turkey
Legal practice shows that litigating in Turkish courts involves significant logistical, linguistic, and financial barriers. The most significant obstacles include:
- Problems obtaining medical records. Documentation is the absolute foundation of any medical malpractice lawsuit. Turkish clinics, aware of potential compensation claims, routinely refuse to provide patients with complete treatment histories or provide them in a fragmented form. As the experience of lawyers specializing in international medical disputes shows, in many cases the only way to secure evidence is to initiate criminal proceedings in Turkey, in which case the documentation is forcibly obtained through the local prosecutor's office.
- Legal costs and the language barrier. The need to appoint a professional local legal representative (a Turkish lawyer), pay for sworn translators and local court experts, and pay high court fees in foreign currencies makes entering the process an insurmountable barrier for many victims.
Is a Polish intermediary (broker) liable for an error in Turkey?
Many patients choose to travel through medical tourism agencies or brokers operating in Poland, who offer comprehensive travel arrangements—from airline tickets and hotel reservations to booking an appointment at a specific clinic. Can a Polish intermediary be held liable in the event of complications?
It all depends on the exact wording of the contract between the patient and the intermediary. Generally, the company organizing the trip is not liable for medical malpractice itself (i.e., a medical tort committed by a foreign surgeon/dentist), as it is not an entity providing healthcare services.
However, an intermediary may be held contractually liable (for failure to perform or improper performance of the contract). This applies to situations where the intermediary has committed gross organizational negligence, for example: improperly preparing and implementing the trip, making an improper choice of medical facility (culpa in eligendo), establishing cooperation with individuals or entities lacking the required qualifications and certificates, or misleading the consumer in advertising materials regarding the actual qualifications of the medical personnel.
National Cabinets – Why Are They Safer from a Legal Perspective?
When deciding on comprehensive prosthetic or implant treatment, it's much safer to choose domestic providers. The Polish legal system provides stable, long statutes of limitations for claims for medical errors (generally, three years from the date the injured party learned of the damage and the person responsible for redressing it). Furthermore, Polish doctors have high amounts covered by mandatory third-party liability insurance, providing a real guarantee of payment if the case is won.
It's worth taking an objective look at the realities of national case law. Although compensation amounts can be high, as the cost of corrective treatment (removal of defective crowns, implant treatment, guided bone regeneration) often reaches tens of thousands of zlotys and is easily documented with invoices, Polish courts still demonstrate a certain reticence in estimating compensation for aesthetic harm alone. The permanent, negative visual effects and long-term pain are a significant psychological burden for patients, yet the amounts awarded in this regard are often relatively low. Nevertheless, litigation in Polish courts remains incomparably easier, cheaper, and more predictable than litigation before tribunals outside the EU.
Summary – what to do if treatment in Turkey was unsuccessful?
If you have been the victim of unsuccessful dental treatment abroad, it is crucial to take appropriate protective measures immediately:
- Securing evidence: Please keep all documentation, receipts, contracts, and correspondence with the clinic and the intermediary (e-mails, WhatsApp/Messenger messages, advertising folders).
- Corrective diagnostics in Poland: It is necessary to immediately visit an independent Polish dentist or oral surgeon to perform a full radiological diagnostics (X-ray, tomography) and prepare a detailed objective medical opinion describing the actual condition and the damage that has occurred.
- An analysis of the documents and the contract with the intermediary by a law firm specializing in medical law will allow us to assess whether there are grounds for pursuing compensation claims in Poland or whether it will be necessary to take steps internationally.
Bringing a lawsuit in cross-border cases requires detailed legal analysis. Our law firm offers support and legal audits of contracts and medical records for individuals injured as a result of medical errors abroad.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of May 27, 2026.
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