University dental faculty or private clinic in Antalya?
Antalya’s Akdeniz University has a Faculty of Dentistry with a public clinic. Some visitors ask whether it is an alternative to the private clinics. Here is how they differ.
Medically reviewed by Dt. Hüseyin Yavuz Özbek, implant surgeon · Updated October 2026Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Dentistry in Antalya runs a clinic for the public, where new patients are first seen in the oral and maxillofacial radiology department. It is a teaching hospital set up mainly for local patients, without the packages, coordinators and transfers private clinics offer UK visitors. For planned treatment on a short trip, most UK patients use one of the 247 authorised private clinics; the faculty can be useful for a specialist second opinion.
Most of what you read about dental treatment in Antalya is about private clinics, because they are the ones that advertise to UK patients. But the city also has a university dental faculty, part of Akdeniz University, with a clinic that treats members of the public. Patients sometimes ask whether it is worth considering, either for planned treatment or for a second opinion.
This article sets out how a teaching faculty differs from a private clinic for a visitor from the UK. It is not a ranking of the faculty, which is not one of the clinics in our guide, and we do not comment on the quality of its dentistry. Our aim is to help you understand the options.
What the faculty is
Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Dentistry is on the university’s main campus on Dumlupınar Boulevard in Antalya. Like dental schools in the UK, it trains dentists and specialists, carries out research and runs clinics where patients are treated. According to its own new-patient guide, people coming to the faculty for the first time are examined in the Department of Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, and are then referred to the department that suits their needs. The guide gives its telephone number as +90 242 310 69 69 and its email as dishekimligi@akdeniz.edu.tr.
The faculty is set up mainly to serve people living in Antalya and the region. It is not a dental tourism business, and its website and processes are mostly in Turkish.
How it differs from a private clinic
| University faculty | Private clinic for UK patients | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Teaching, research and care for the public | Private treatment, often for international patients |
| First contact | Examination, then referral to a department | WhatsApp or email with a coordinator, often with a quote before travel |
| Who treats you | Specialists, and in some clinics students or trainees under supervision | The clinic’s own dentists |
| Language | Mainly Turkish | English-speaking coordinators; dentists vary |
| Packages | No hotel or transfer packages | Often hotel, transfers and fixed package prices |
| Timing | Waiting times depend on the department | Appointments planned around your flights |
When a faculty might suit you
A specialist second opinion
If you already have a treatment plan from a private clinic and you want an independent view while you are in Antalya, a teaching faculty with specialist departments is one place to ask. Departments such as prosthodontics, periodontology and oral surgery are run by specialists. Contact the faculty in advance to ask whether it can see a visitor within your stay and give you a written report you can understand.
A complex medical background
If you have a serious medical condition, take medicines that affect bleeding or bone healing, or have had radiotherapy to the head or neck, a hospital-based setting may be more appropriate for some procedures. This is something to discuss with your UK dentist and doctor before you plan any treatment abroad.
When a private clinic is usually more practical
For planned treatment on a short trip, such as implants, crowns or veneers, most UK patients find a private clinic more practical. Private clinics plan appointments around your flights, give you a written plan and price in English before you travel, arrange transfers and accommodation, and have staff who deal with international patients every day. They also have to be authorised by the Ministry of Health to treat international patients; our Antalya register list shows all 247.
A faculty may not be able to promise a fixed timetable, and a two-trip treatment like implants depends on being seen at the right times.
Questions to ask either kind of provider
- Who will treat me?By name, and with what training. At a faculty, ask whether students will be involved.
- Can I have the plan in English?Treatment, materials, number of visits and cost, in writing.
- How long will it take?Can it fit into the time I have, including a second trip if needed?
- What does it cost, and how do I pay?Including any fees for foreign visitors.
- What happens if something goes wrong after I leave?Who do I contact, and is there any guarantee?
- Can I have copies of my X-rays and records?You will need them for your UK dentist.
Public, private and the cost question
Some visitors assume a public faculty will be much cheaper. Fees at public institutions in Turkey are set for the national health system, and charges for foreign visitors without Turkish social security can be different. GOV.UK notes that the UK Global Health Insurance Card is not valid in Turkey, so you would pay as a private patient wherever you go. Ask the faculty for its current fees for visitors before assuming either way.
Private clinics in Antalya that market to UK patients often publish package prices that include a hotel and transfers. Our article on which clinics publish prices shows what is available.
What our guide covers, and what it does not
Our ranking covers 15 private clinics that actively look for UK patients, checked against six public criteria. It does not include public hospitals or university faculties, because they are not set up to market to UK patients and do not publish the same information. That is not a judgement on them.
The guide is published by Precious Dental, a private clinic in Antalya and our top pick. If you would like Precious Dental to look at your case, the details are on why Precious Dental. If you would like a second opinion on a plan from any clinic, including ours, a specialist at a faculty or a dentist at home are both good places to ask.
Combining the two
Some patients use both kinds of provider. They have planned treatment at a private clinic, and if they want a specialist view on part of it, they ask a teaching faculty or a hospital specialist. That is reasonable, as long as each knows about the other and you bring your records. Equally, if a faculty specialist advises you to have treatment that a private clinic could do more quickly, you can take the specialist’s written report with you. What matters is that every dentist who treats you can see what the others have found and done.
A note on emergencies
If you have severe swelling, difficulty swallowing or breathing, or bleeding that will not stop, do not wait for a dental appointment of any kind. Call 112 or go to a hospital emergency department. For a dental problem that is painful but not dangerous, a nearby private clinic will usually see you fastest; see toothache on holiday in Antalya.
Whichever route you choose, keep your records together and make sure your UK dentist sees them when you get home.
Practical tips if you contact the faculty
- Write in simple English or use a translator. A short message in Turkish, with an English version below, may get a faster reply.
- Attach your X-rays. A recent panoramic X-ray helps any dentist give you a useful answer.
- Give your dates. Say when you will be in Antalya and how long you can stay.
- Ask about the first visit. Where to go on the campus, what to bring and whether you need to register first.
Common questions
Can a foreign visitor be treated at Akdeniz University’s dental faculty?
The faculty treats members of the public. Contact it directly to ask about appointments, fees and language for international visitors before you rely on it.
Are university dental faculties cheaper?
Public fees in Turkey are set for the Turkish health system and may differ for foreign visitors. Ask the faculty for its current fees.
Will students treat me?
Teaching faculties train dentists, so some treatment may be carried out by students or specialists in training under supervision. Ask who will treat you.
Is the faculty a good place for a second opinion?
It can be, because it has specialist departments. Ask whether it can see you within your stay and provide a written report in English.
Sources
- Akdeniz University Faculty of Dentistry: new patient guide (PDF)
- HealthTürkiye: list of authorised health facilities
- GOV.UK: Turkey travel advice, health
Checked October 2026. Where we give our own view as a clinic, we say so.
Want Precious Dental to look at your case?
We are one of the clinics in this guide. Send an X-ray or a few photos and a dentist will reply with a written plan and price. No obligation, and no pressure to choose us.