An Auckland couple say they are paying the price for shoddy dental work after they travelled to Turkey for cut-price crowns.

Like the reality stars on TV show Love Island, Linda Audisho and Liver Owru both wanted “Turkey teeth” and a “Hollywood” smile.

Audisho, 37, has lived with broken teeth and missing fillings most of her life.

Her partner, 32, had old crowns that needed repairing and he also wanted a hair transplant.

A family member introduced the pair to a Turkish consultant who organised treatment with what the couple believed was an affordable and reputable dental clinic in Istanbul.

“They made it sound like you were going on an enjoyable holiday but when you are having dental work there is nothing to enjoy because you can’t eat, you go through pain and you’re always going back and forth to the clinic,” Audisho said.

“We had lots of conversations and he said, ‘trust me, it’s the best dental clinic in the world.’ It didn’t turn out that way, and now we are paying the price. We’re not embarrassed talking about what happened, we just don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.

The pair are speaking out about their experience after the Herald revealed the risks of other overseas dental holidays.

Getting crowns in New Zealand would have cost the pair $48,000 but they paid only $11,000 in Turkey. When the couple arrived in Istanbul last year, they were overwhelmed by the crowds and felt uneasy when they saw streets lined up with dental clinics like a car yard.

“Something wasn’t right, there were millions of clinics, and everyone was harassing us,” Owru said.

They stalled for two weeks before they went ahead with treatment. However, after numerous meetings with the dentist they decided on getting crowns.

“I was very sceptical and now I wished I’d listened to my instincts,” Audisho said.

Initially, the pair were pleased with their crowns, but teething problems started a month after they returned home. One of Audisho’s crowns broke while she was eating toast and another fell out a few days later. Her gums turned blue and bled and her teeth were rotting under the crowns because they hadn’t been sealed properly.

Six of Owru’s crowns snapped and he had abscesses in his mouth which caused him excruciating pain.

The couple had to stump up $46,000 to fix their “no-frills” crowns in Auckland - more than their entire trip to Turkey. Audisho asked the dental clinic in Istanbul for a refund, but it refused.

She sent x-rays from New Zealand that she said proved the crowns were faulty. The clinic has a complaints process, but Audisho said language was a barrier and the couple didn’t want to spend more money on legal fees.

“I regret going to Turkey 100 per cent. If I knew what was going to happen, I would never have done it. We were given a 5-year warranty and the dentist offered to redo them, but we didn’t want to go back to Turkey. Also, [they] botched my teeth in the first place, why would I want to go back to [them]? "

Audisho said the dental consultant who arranged the treatment felt bad about their ordeal and made a contribution to their bills out of his own pocket.

The consultant agreed the dentist did a “botched” job and told the Herald he refunded the couple US$3000 ($5091).

“I told them under the five-year warranty they could have their teeth fixed by another dentist in Istanbul but it doesn’t cover airfares and accommodation.”

The couple, however, say they got only $2000 back.

Auckland dentist Dr Saud Ibrahim, who specialises in implants and cosmetic surgery, was appalled at the state of the couple’s teeth. He says Kiwis need to be cautious about dental holidays.

“Dental tourism is huge, and it is easy to be tempted by the cheaper option, but it will end up costing you more if something goes wrong. There is no follow-up care and if there are problems you must go back to Turkey,” Ibrahim said.

The dentist says he has been busy doing remedial for dental tourists since Covid - and the numbers continue to grow.

His message to Kiwis is: “Do your research, find someone with verified qualifications and watch out for fake reviews. The best thing is get your dental work done locally, if something goes wrong you can go back to them immediately. It might be a bit more expensive but it’s peace of mind. Be careful your Hollywood smile doesn’t turn into a Hellywood one.”

Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland-based investigative journalist. She has worked for the Herald since 2007 and was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and a current affairs producer for 60 Minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.