An HGV driver has “smiled for the first time in 30 years”, after flying to Turkey to have his teeth replaced.
After a childhood of neglected oral hygiene, Steve Kemsley, 50, spent years in pain and was embarrassed to smile.
The father-of-two said he’d been given a “new lease of life” since forking out £6,400 to have 27 broken teeth removed and replaced in Antalya, reports NottinghamshireLive.
He’s now beaming when people tell him he looks a decade younger.
Beofre to the surgery, Mr Kemsley, from Buckinghamshire,felt self-conscious when he laughed or smiled, he said: “I didn’t open my mouth. It was getting to the point they were falling out and it was painful at times.”
However, his confidence has grown as people comment on how happy he seems and how good his teeth look.
He added: “It’s been an amazing journey for me. It has given me a new lease of life.
“People have said I look and act a completely different person – it’s taken 10 years off me.”
After looking into options in the UK, Mr Kemsley couldn’t afford the £21,000 that he was being quoted.
In desperation to have them fixed his search took him further afield until he found Dental Wise Turkey.
They quoted £6,400, which included the surgery, accommodation and travel.
The only additional cost was the flight. He said: “They were fantastic. I was treated like a king throughout the whole process. You get to stay in a five-star hotel, and they drive you to every appointment. It was incredible for the money.”
Following numerous WhatsApp messages and video calls he was able to make his journey to Turkey in April this year using inheritance from his late uncle.
Mr Kemsley spent a week in Antalya having the broken teeth removed during a three-hour procedure before having ten implants installed in his mouth.
He said: “I had to wait four months for the implants to heal over and stitches to come out before I could go back.”
After months of healing and losing three-stone in weight, he flew back out to Turkey in September to finally have the teeth fixed into his mouth.
He was “gobsmacked” by the results, saying: “I was really overwhelmed when I saw them because I hadn’t had a smile like that in the best part of 30 years. For the first time in years, I could smile and laugh without covering my mouth.”
He said: “A month before Turkey, I wanted to start looking after myself, I started to exercise and went on a diet.
“My healing period actually helped that, as I was only able to eat soft foods. I was forced to stay healthy that way, only eating foods like rice, pasta, omelette. I’m still adjusting to eating and chewing with new teeth now, it feels completely different.”
In a bid to encourage others who may feel insecure about their smiles to do the same, he said: “When I came back, I went to visit my two-year-old granddaughter. I smiled at her, and she looked at me and went ‘teeth! Teeth!’.”
