Our Great French-Speaking Dentist in Istanbul (Turkey)
In November 2018, we were in the magnificent city of Istanbul. Three days before leaving for a vacation in Egypt, I lost a dental filling while eating (what a silly idea to eat candy!).
Even though we’re fortunate to be in good health, one of the pain points of our nomadic life is dealing with our teeth. We’ve had rather bad experiences with our dentists in France. Since 2016, we’ve been traveling full-time, staying one or two months at each stop, so you can imagine that finding a dentist isn’t easy.
So I had an urgent need to find a dentist, French-speaking if possible (my English vocabulary for talking about teeth is limited, and my Turkish vocabulary is nonexistent). I was a bit desperate and was starting to resign myself to spending 15 days of vacation with a hole in my tooth and getting it fixed only afterward.
I found on the French consulate’s website in Istanbul a list of French-speaking doctors, which included a few dentists. The list must not have been updated in a while because the first numbers didn’t work anymore. Until my attempt to call the Artdent clinic was successful. Well, the first exchange was tricky since the assistant who answered spoke only Turkish, but she understood I was French, and I got a call back a few minutes later from the dentist, who is perfectly fluent in French and who agreed to see me the next day. My tooth wasn’t fixed yet, but I was already super relieved!
The next day, I went to the clinic and was warmly welcomed by the assistant I hadn’t been able to communicate with the day before 🙂 She handed me a medical form to fill out. I was about to pull out my Google Translate app when I noticed the form was in French! How professional! I later learned that a large part of this clinic’s clientele is made up of French expats who must share this good find.
Photo: the treatment room
Then I met the dentist Aslı Bozlak Uzman who perfectly repaired my filling.
I was impressed by the equipment she had. A miniature camera took a picture of my tooth before and after the procedure. I could admire the result on the screen in front of me. I wasn’t expecting such modernity! I could even pick the music I wanted to listen to during the procedure on Spotify. I won’t say it’s a pleasure to go to the dentist under these conditions, but almost 🙂
During this procedure, Aslı pointed out that I had a gum recession problem, that it wasn’t urgent but needed to be addressed. It was the first time a dentist had mentioned it to me, but it seemed obvious once it was pointed out.
Over the next two years, I saw three different dentists in France and Canada. Each time, I brought up the gum issue, but I was always told it wasn’t serious, apart from a possible aesthetic concern (which wasn’t the case at all).
In December 2021, we were back in Istanbul, and I went to see my dear dentist for a routine check-up. She brought up my gum again, and I explained what the other dentists had told me. She then showed me I had sensitivity issues at several points (which I had noticed when drinking something cold but had stopped paying attention to). She explained it was probably due to bruxism, which reminded me that Anh regularly pointed out that I was grinding my teeth at night…
Anyway, it’s a bit of a shame to think you have to go to Turkey to find a good dentist, but that’s sort of the conclusion I’ve come to.
Since I was staying for several weeks, we took the time to treat everything and make me a dental splint. My teeth and gums have been much better since!
Photo: our dentist Aslı
Anh also got to appreciate Aslı’s thoroughness and attention to detail, and she’s now our regular dentist. She’s the only dentist who has taken her bruxism issues seriously. Anh also has a splint, sturdier than mine, for bruxism because her bruxism is much more severe than mine.
This splint was adjusted and readjusted to ensure maximum comfort so she could wear it regularly. She also covered her teeth damaged by bruxism, something other dentists refused to do because it was probably too labor-intensive.
In short, our dentist Aslı is such a perfectionist and so attentive that any problem brought up is not ignored but, on the contrary, checked (X-ray, camera…), explained, proven, and treated to the end.
Whenever we have dental issues, we’ll come to Istanbul (there are worse cities to stay in!).
Since Turkey is not in the European Union, expenses are not covered by social security. Having a specific travel insurance, our emergency costs are reimbursed.
However, if you have costly dental needs (implants, bridges, prosthetics, smile aesthetics, …), the out-of-pocket cost in France is very high. Thanks to the weak Turkish currency, it can be much more cost-effective to plan a trip to Istanbul for this type of treatment and do some sightseeing between appointments. Especially when you know you’ll be treated by a meticulous dentist you can fully trust.
We paid approximately:
- 160€ for the bruxism splint
- about 80€ for the big emergency cavity
- 40€ for a super high-quality scaling and polishing
How to contact our dentist?
You can contact Aslı directly on our behalf via WhatsApp (+90 532 437 95 58) for any information or to book an appointment.
If needed, she also speaks fluent English and Spanish.
Her office is located near Osmanbey metro station (Google Maps link).
