What Happens After You Return Home — İnci Diş's Aftercare Protocol

What happens after you fly home

"Stay in touch on WhatsApp" is not aftercare. It is a phone number.

Aftercare is a protocol, a defined set of documents you leave Istanbul with, a scheduled set of remote check-ins, and a clear, written policy about what happens if something goes wrong six months from now.

This is the page that exists because it is the single biggest gap in dental-tourism websites. We are filling it deliberately. If, while you compare clinics, this is the section you cannot find on the other site, that is your signal.

What you leave Istanbul with

Before you fly home from your Visit 1 (and again after Visit 2), you receive:

1. Your implant passport

A physical and digital document listing, for every implant placed:

• Brand and manufacturer
• Model and platform
• Diameter and length
• Lot number
• Date of placement
• Position in the mouth (tooth number, FDI notation)
• Type of abutment used
• Type of provisional / final prosthesis attached

A dentist anywhere in the world can use this document to identify your implants and order compatible parts. This is the single most useful piece of paper a returning patient can carry.

2. Your imaging on USB and cloud

• Your CBCT scan in standard DICOM format.
• Your intraoral scans in STL format.
• Your panoramic and any other 2D imaging used.
• A folder of clinical photographs.

The files are loaded onto a USB you take home and uploaded to a secure cloud folder we share with you. If anything is ever lost, you can re-download.

3. Your written treatment summary

Plain-language and clinical-language description of:

• Diagnosis
• Treatment performed at each stage
• Materials and brands used
• Any unexpected findings during treatment
• The bite, occlusion, and prosthetic decisions made and why
• Aftercare instructions specific to your case

Available in English, French, Romanian, Russian, or Turkish.

4. Your bridge letter to your home dentist

A formal letter to your local dentist that:

• Introduces the case.
• Lists the treatment performed.
• Identifies the implant brand and components.
• Specifies the recall schedule (hygiene, radiographic checks).
• Provides our direct contact for any clinical question.

Most local dentists welcome this letter. It removes the awkwardness of arriving with "work from Turkey" without records.

5. Your warranty terms in writing

What is covered, for how long, under what conditions, and what is not covered. We will return to this in detail below.

Your scheduled remote check-ins

We do not wait for you to message us. We initiate.

Each check-in is conducted by the named clinician on your case, scheduled in advance, and documented.

What happens if something goes wrong

This is the part most clinics avoid. We will write it down.

Pain or swelling in week 1–4

Contact us first, before going to a local dentist. Most issues at this stage are managed remotely with reassurance, hygiene adjustment, or short-course medication. We have a coordinator on duty seven days a week.

If urgent in-person care is required, we will help you find a local dentist for triage, and pay for emergency consultations as listed in your warranty terms.

Suspected implant failure during osseointegration

Implant failures during the 3–6 month healing window are rare but real (under 3% in healthy patients, higher in smokers and in compromised cases). If one occurs, our policy is:

1. Remote diagnosis from your symptoms, photos, and a new panoramic from a local dentist or imaging centre.
2. Confirmation by your named surgeon.
3. A replacement implant is placed at our cost on your return Visit 2: see warranty section for exact conditions.
4. Adjustment of the prosthetic timeline accordingly.

A problem with the final bridge or crown

After the final prosthesis is fitted, issues that can arise include bite adjustment, chipping (especially in bruxers), a debonded crown, or framework wear over years.

• Bite adjustment in the first 4 weeks: included.
• Component repair within the warranty period: covered per warranty terms.
• Long-term wear after the warranty period: serviceable; we quote on a per-case basis.

A long-term issue — peri-implantitis or hygiene-related disease

Peri-implantitis is the inflammation of tissue around an implant, generally driven by plaque, smoking, and inadequate hygiene. Long-term outcomes depend significantly on your home maintenance, not on the surgical work.

We provide your hygienist with cleaning recommendations specific to your prosthesis (single-tuft brush, superfloss, water flosser settings). We expect you to see a hygienist at home every 6 months. If peri-implantitis develops:

• Early stages can often be managed locally with our remote support and the hygienist's protocol.
• Advanced cases may require in-clinic intervention; we will tell you whether to return to Istanbul or have it managed locally.

Our warranty — what is covered and what is not

Warranty terms are specified in your written plan and confirmed at the end of treatment. The general framework is:

Covered

• Implants: replacement at our cost in case of failed osseointegration or biological failure not caused by patient-side factors (within the warranty period defined for your specific implant brand: typically 5 years to lifetime depending on brand).
• Crowns and bridges: replacement or repair for material defects within the warranty period (typically 3–5 years).
• Full-arch prostheses: framework warranty per material; service interventions defined.

Not covered

• Failures caused by smoking, particularly heavy smoking, after explicit advice to the contrary.
• Failures caused by untreated bruxism where a night guard was prescribed and not worn.
• Failures caused by trauma (sports injury, accidents).
• Failures caused by systemic conditions that develop after treatment and were not disclosed (e.g., starting bisphosphonate medication).
• Issues caused by prolonged absence of hygienist visits and demonstrable plaque-related disease.
• Cosmetic preferences (e.g., wanting a different shade) after final delivery.

Travel cost

For warranty interventions requiring return to Istanbul, we cover the clinical work fully. Flights and accommodation for the return visit are not generally covered, except as specifically stated in your warranty document.

Documentation needed for a warranty claim

• Your implant passport and treatment summary.
• A recent panoramic or local imaging.
• Records of hygienist visits at home.
• For prosthetic issues, photos and a description of the symptoms.

We do not require you to fly to make a warranty claim. The initial assessment is remote, by your named clinician.

Will my home dentist accept the work done in Turkey?

In most cases, yes — especially when:

• You arrive with an implant passport.
• You arrive with a bridge letter from us.
• The implant brand is internationally available (we name it on purpose).
• The local dentist can call or email us directly with any question.

Some local dentists will not work on implants placed abroad as a matter of practice, usually due to liability concerns rather than clinical objection. If this is your situation, we will recommend an alternative local practitioner familiar with international cases. In the EU, in the UK, and in major US metros, this is rarely a real obstacle.

What you need to do at home

Aftercare is shared work. Your part:

• Hygiene: brush, floss, and use the tools we recommend (single-tuft, superfloss, water flosser).
• Hygienist visits every 6 months at home. We will write to your hygienist if helpful.
• Soft diet during the first weeks after surgery, with progression per the schedule we provide.
• Smoking: stop if you can. Smoking is the largest patient-controllable risk factor for implant failure.
• Night guard: wear it if prescribed.
• Annual radiograph of implant areas as recommended.
• Tell us early if anything feels different. Early is easy. Late is harder.

What you carry home in your implant passport

Every implant we place is logged on a one-page implant passport that flies home with you and a copy goes to your home dentist. It names the brand and exact model (for example, Straumann BLT 4.1 × 10 mm SLActive), the lot number, the surgical date, the abutment torque, and the restoration material. If anyone ever asks what is in your mouth, the answer is on one page in writing. Most clinics do not provide this and it is the single most useful document to keep.

• Implant brand and model, with diameter and length per site.
• Surgical date and the named clinician who placed each implant.
• Manufacturer lot numbers (so the implant body is traceable for warranty).
• Final crown or bridge material, shade and date of fitting.
• Recommended hygiene recall cadence with your home hygienist.

Related: Why Choose İnci Diş · Meet the Doctors · International Patient Journey