ISTANBUL, TR – September 03, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –
Maltepe Dental Clinic has published a video case study documenting the treatment of a German patient who had been told that dental implants were not possible, only to be reassessed and successfully treated at the clinic’s facility in Kadikoy, Istanbul. The case, released on the clinic’s channel in August 2025 under the title “Dental Implants in Istanbul After Being Told ‘Impossible’ in Germany” and overseen by clinicians Dr. Alper Gurhan and Dr. Yusuf Ilhan, follows a 50-year-old patient from Braunschweig through assessment, treatment and final restoration, and examines what a refusal actually means for a patient.
The patient, who had lost teeth to advanced periodontitis, had been informed in Germany that implant placement was not an option and had been fitted with a removable denture. According to the clinic, the phrase “not a candidate” can carry several distinct meanings. It may indicate that a case is clinically unsuitable, that there is not enough bone as things stand, or that the procedure is simply not covered by an insurer. In the clinic’s experience, patients are seldom told which of these applies to them.
German clinical guidance itself treats bone deficiency as a starting point rather than a closed door. The German Society for Implantology, together with the DGZMK, publishes a clinical guideline (AWMF register 083-009, 2020) describing augmentation as possibly indicated where a jawbone defect at the implant site would otherwise make placement impossible or leave an implant unstable over the long term. In this framing, a refusal can mark the beginning of a second assessment rather than its end, although whether that applies in any individual case is a matter for clinical evaluation.
The funding question is separate. The German Federal Ministry of Health states that “in most cases, dental implants must also be financed privately. The costs are only covered by health insurance providers in very few, particularly serious cases.” Germany’s national association of statutory health insurance dentists, the KZBV, corroborates this in its patient information, noting that full mouth dental implants are as a rule not covered by statutory insurance, with rare exceptions such as treatment following certain accidents or tumour operations.
“A patient told they are not a candidate is often being told one of three different things, and almost never learns which,” said Dr. Alper Gurhan. “Where bone is insufficient, German guidance itself points to augmentation as a possible route. Our role is to reassess, not to contradict the dentists who spoke first.”
The published case describes the clinic’s assessment pathway for patients already refused elsewhere. In this patient’s case, an initial examination was followed by a sinus lift to rebuild support in an upper jaw diminished by bone loss, then implant placement, with the restoration completed with 28 crowns roughly one year after the first assessment. Where an evaluation finds bone deficient, grafting can rebuild volume at the implant site, and sinus lifting can create space in the upper jaw for stable placement. Once adequate support is established, full arch dental implants can be planned around the anatomy that remains, an approach also used in full mouth dental implants for patients missing most or all of their teeth. Whether any of these steps is appropriate depends on individual clinical evaluation.
“In many of the cases we reassess, the anatomy that remains offers more than the patient had been led to believe,” said Dr. Yusuf Ilhan. “Assessment happens before anyone travels.”
The World Health Organization, in its oral health fact sheet updated 17 March 2025, notes that “losing teeth can be psychologically traumatic, socially damaging and functionally limiting.”
Maltepe Dental Clinic is an award-winning practice with 24 years of experience and an in-house laboratory. It was the first clinic in Turkey to operate its own facility in London, and has treated patients from more than 85 countries. The clinic uses internationally certified materials and implant systems from Straumann, MegaGen, ICX, and Hiossen.
###
For more information about Maltepe Dental Clinic, contact the company here:
Maltepe Dental Clinic
Dr. Alper Gurhan and Dr. Yusuf Ilhan
+905452315329
smile@maltepedentalclinic.com
Kosuyolu Cad. No:51 Kadikoy/Istanbul 34718
