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Australia vs TurkeyTürkiye changed its health tourism rules. Here is what you can check yourself
Most advice about choosing a clinic abroad is opinion. Since April 2025 there is something firmer: Türkiye keeps a public list of the facilities and agencies it has authorised to treat international patients, and you can look your clinic up on it before you pay anything.
Key takeaways
- Türkiye published a new international health tourism regulation in the Official Gazette on 26 April 2025, replacing the 2017 rules 1.
- Facilities and the agencies that bring patients in need an authorisation from the Ministry of Health, and the ministry publishes who holds one 2.
- Accreditation through TUSKA applies to hospitals and medical centres. A standalone dental clinic is a different category, so ask which document applies to yours 13.
- None of this tells you whether the treatment plan is right. That still comes from imaging, an examination and a written plan you can read before you fly.
What actually changed in 2025
Türkiye rewrote the rules for treating international patients. The new regulation on international health tourism and tourist health was published in the Official Gazette on 26 April 2025 and replaced the framework that had been in place since 2017 1. Reporting at the time described the same package: a central portal, stronger requirements on the facilities and the intermediaries, and quality standards tied to accreditation rather than to marketing 4.
For a patient the useful part is narrow and concrete. Treating international patients is not something a clinic in Türkiye may simply decide to do. It needs an authorisation, and the intermediary that arranges your trip needs one too 12.
The list is public, and that is the point
The Ministry of Health publishes the authorised health facilities and the authorised intermediary organisations through its health tourism department 2. That single fact is worth more than every "trusted clinic" badge on the internet, because it is a register you can check yourself rather than a claim someone makes about themselves.
Ask for the clinic's authorisation and check the name against the ministry's own list. A clinic that treats foreign patients routinely will not be surprised by the question. Hesitation is information.
- Ask for the authorisation document and the exact registered name of the facility
- Check that registered name against the ministry list, not the brand name on the website
- Ask whether the agency arranging your trip is separately authorised
- Ask who is accountable if something needs correcting after you fly home
Accreditation, certification and why the words differ
The regulation does not treat every facility the same way. Hospitals and medical centres are pointed towards accreditation by TUSKA, the national quality and accreditation institute, while other health facilities hold the certificate the regulation specifies for their category 13.
This matters for dentistry because most dental treatment abroad happens in a dental clinic rather than a hospital. If a website tells you it is "TUSKA accredited", ask which document it actually holds and for which category. There is a phase-in with dates attached, and published summaries of the deadline do not agree with each other, which is exactly why we point you to the ministry page rather than repeat a date here.
What the paperwork still does not answer
Authorisation says a clinic is allowed to treat you. It does not say the plan you were sent is the right plan. Those are separate questions and the second one is the one that changes your teeth.
A plan worth trusting names the implant system and the ceramic by brand, prices each stage separately including the ones that may turn out to be unnecessary, states the guarantee terms for the fixture and for the prosthetic work as two different things, and is issued after imaging and an examination rather than from a photograph alone.
We ask for photographs to start, because photographs are enough to say whether a case is worth planning at all. Imaging is taken at the clinic, and the final plan is confirmed only after a clinician has examined you in person.
For readers in the UK and the US
Your own regulator does not follow you abroad. The General Dental Council registers dentists practising in the United Kingdom, and a state dental board licenses dentists in that state. Neither has authority over a clinic in Istanbul, and neither will handle a complaint about one.
That is not an argument against treatment abroad. It is an argument for doing the checking before you commit rather than after: the authorisation, the named clinician, the written plan, and a clear answer about who fixes what and at whose cost if a restoration needs remaking.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a Turkish dental clinic is authorised?
Ask the clinic for its international health tourism authorisation and the registered name of the facility, then check that name against the list the Ministry of Health publishes through its health tourism department 2. Check the agency arranging your trip separately.
Is TUSKA accreditation required for dental clinics?
The regulation points hospitals and medical centres towards TUSKA accreditation, while other facilities hold the certificate specified for their category 13. A standalone dental clinic is usually in the second group, so ask which document applies rather than assuming.
Does this new regulation make treatment in Türkiye safe?
It makes it checkable, which is not the same thing. It tells you a facility is authorised to treat international patients. Whether your particular plan is sound still depends on imaging, an examination and a written plan you can read.
Do I need to send an X-ray before I travel?
No. Photographs are enough for a first assessment, and imaging is taken at the clinic. A plan built only on a photograph is a starting point, not a final quote.
Related pages
- How treatment in Türkiye is planned
- Dental implants in Türkiye
- Published prices
- Dental tourism in Türkiye
Sources and further reading
- Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi ve Turistin Sağlığı Hakkında Yönetmelik (Resmî Gazete, 26 April 2025) resmigazete.gov.tr, 2025-04-26, accessed 2026-08-19
- T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı, Sağlık Turizmi Daire Başkanlığı: Yetkili Sağlık Tesisleri ve Aracı Kuruluşlar shgmturizmdb.saglik.gov.tr, accessed 2026-08-19
- Health Institutes of Türkiye (TÜSEB): TUSKA accreditation tuseb.gov.tr, 2025-03-27, accessed 2026-08-19
- Türkiye’s health tourism gets major upgrade for safety, quality dailysabah.com, accessed 2026-08-19
This article is general information, not a diagnosis or a treatment recommendation. Only a clinician who has examined you can tell you what your own case needs.