Sarah could have had private treatment in the UK at a cost of more than £40,000
An NHS worker who was refused treatment for severe gum disease on the NHS flew to Croatia for a full set of dental implants – after being quoted more than £40,000 to have the work done privately in the UK. Sarah Wilding, 54, from Leicestershire, had always kept up with regular dental checkups but started to notice her gums receding and teeth becoming loose in her late 40s.
After being told she had advanced gum disease, she says her condition was left untreated by her NHS dentist, and she was eventually turned down for referral to a specialist. “I was told I had gum disease and when I asked what it was, they just said the bone shrinks – there was no treatment offered,” Sarah said, who works in theatre operations for the NHS.
She added: “It was never picked up earlier either. I’d had a two-year period where I wasn’t working and couldn’t afford the hygienist, but I was still going to my checkups and nothing was flagged.”
Sarah says her condition spiralled quickly. She began losing teeth from the front and back of her mouth, which affected her ability to eat, work comfortably and feel confident in herself. “I had to get plates made with missing teeth and I absolutely hated them,” she said. “I couldn’t bite into apples, I carried around Fixodent in case they came loose, and I kept thinking – what if I’m out with friends or at work and they slip? It really knocked my confidence and made me feel self-conscious in social situations.”
She looked into treatment options privately and was told that if she wanted to treat the gum disease and replace the teeth, it would cost between £9,000 and £15,000, not including a £1,500 consultation fee. The NHS rejected her request for a hospital referral, despite her appeal and explanation that she had missed hygienist appointments due to financial hardship.
“I was told I didn’t meet the criteria – but they wouldn’t tell me why,” Sarah said. “I even rang the hospital myself. It was a dead end.”
She began exploring options abroad, including in Turkey, but says the aggressive sales tactics and “offer expires soon” pressure made her uncomfortable. “I nearly went to Turkey. It was before they had a bad rep, but it didn’t sit right with me,” she said. “I was being rushed into a deal like it was a sofa sale – but this was my whole mouth.”
Sarah found Dentum – a dental clinic in Zagreb, Croatia, which her cousin had also visited more than a decade ago. She arranged a scan and X-rays in the UK to send to the team and was quoted £12,000 for a full restoration. Her father agreed to cover the cost from her inheritance, which allowed her to book the procedure without needing a loan.
Despite a medical scare weeks before her trip – an anaphylactic reaction during gallbladder surgery that landed her in ICU – Sarah chose to proceed with the treatment, after sending her hospital notes and medication details to Dentum’s team in advance.
She flew out to Croatia in spring 2024 with a friend and had a full consultation the morning after arrival. By 5pm that same day, she was in the chair. “I had every single tooth removed under twilight sedation, and they fitted four implants at the top and six at the bottom – known as all-on-six,” she explained. “It took about five hours in surgery, but honestly, I didn’t feel a thing.”
Instead of sending her home with removable dentures like many other clinics, Dentum fitted her with temporary screw-in implants to wear during the healing process, before returning for her final porcelain teeth months later.
“The service was unbelievable – they couldn’t do enough for me,” she said. “The surgeon was also the dentist, the anaesthetist knew all about my allergy, the staff at the accommodation were lovely, they called me within a week for aftercare. Every patient we met there was British.”
In total, Sarah paid just under £17,000 for the full procedure, including extras like sedation, a porcelain finish, and a lifetime guarantee. She says a similar treatment quoted in the UK would have cost £35,000 to £42,000.
“Even my UK dentist admitted he couldn’t match the price,” she said. “And the difference in how I feel is just incredible. I’ve had people come up to me and compliment my teeth, asking if I’ve had whitening done. I just say, ‘They’re not mine – they’re screwed in!’”
Sarah says the change has been life-altering – not just physically, but mentally too. “I didn’t go for white-white teeth – they helped me pick a natural shade that suits me,” she said. “I can eat whatever I want, I’m not embarrassed anymore, and I feel confident. It’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Dr Andrej Bozic, lead oral surgeon at Dentum, said Sarah’s story was becoming increasingly common. “Many of our patients come to us after years of frustration in the UK – whether it’s lack of access, delays, or high prices,” he said. “We now treat more than 600 British patients every year.”