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BBC Report: "Teeth of Tirana", Albania Enters the Medical Tourism Race

2026-09-08 13:02:06Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA GUY DELAUNEY
BBC Report: "Teeth of Tirana", Albania Enters the Medical Tourism Race
Anthony Hook

BBC

Anthony Hook sits in the dentist's chair and smiles in front of a small hand-held mirror. He has been asked to pose for a few photos to show off his new smile, and the 58-year-old from Bolton, Greater Manchester, is happy to do so.

He is now the proud owner of a new set of teeth, what you can jokingly call "Tirana teeth."

It's not a brand yet. But it could be a suitable slogan for an Albania that is increasingly entering the medical tourism market.

The center of this development is Tirana. And once you spot a first tooth, you start seeing them everywhere.

Large, illuminated teeth advertising dental clinics appear on the streets of the capital. They are not signs of a nighttime brawl, but advertisements indicating that a dental clinic is just a few steps away.

There are about 400 dental clinics in the Tirana metropolitan area, most of them in the city center. For a population of about 600 thousand inhabitants, the number is considerable.

For this very reason, more and more Albanian dentists are seeking patients abroad. Many clinics have created websites and signboards in English and Italian, in addition to Albanian.

Anthony Hook was initially drawn to Albania for a completely different reason. He came to Tirana last year to watch England play Albania.

But during his stay in the capital, his attention was drawn to the numerous signs for dental clinics.

Cost was another reason.

A dental implant in Albania usually costs around 600 euros per tooth, a price similar to that in Turkey, for years one of the main destinations for Europeans seeking cheaper dental treatments.

In the UK, France or Germany, the same treatment can easily cost four times as much.

For Hook, the offer was very attractive.

He chose Albania over Turkey, partly because of media reports of cases where dental treatments or hair transplants in Turkey had gone badly.

Even the British Foreign Office warns about the risks associated with medical procedures in Turkey, saying it is aware of seven British citizens who died there in 2025 after medical procedures.

Hook says he wouldn't go to Turkey because he had heard "a lot of bad things."

"I went online and looked it up properly. It took me two days to do the research, because I'm not one to jump into something right away," he says.

After several trips to Albania, Anthony now has a mouth full of new implants.

And it is, of course, all smiles.

"I would come here once a month for vacation, if I could," he says, laughing.

Elite Dental is one of the largest clinics in Tirana. It is licensed by the Albanian health authorities and all 15 dentists working there are also licensed.

The clinic's director, Ardtur Dema, says he disagrees with damaging healthy teeth solely for aesthetic reasons.

According to him, the main goal should be "changing people's lives," restoring their ability to chew and, of course, smile.

Dema believes that as long as Albania remains outside the European Union, treatment prices will continue to be relatively low.

At the same time, the expansion of low-cost flights to Tirana has made foreign patients as common as domestic ones.

A patient can come from Turin, just as they can come from Tirana.

But the rapid growth of medical tourism also brings concerns.

Dema warns that unscrupulous operators could harm the entire sector. He is a member of the newly established Albanian Medical Tourism Association, but many other providers are not yet part of it.

Prime Minister Edi Rama says the government is trying to adapt to a new reality, after five years during which the number of international visitors to Albania has more than doubled.

According to him, the possibility of creating some kind of official certification for structures that provide medical tourism services is being considered, although it has not yet been determined how such a system would function.

"It is a new industry that is within the umbrella of the tourism industry, which is showing great potential and where there are very good people," says Rama.

He adds that the government wants to help serious providers survive and avoid unfair competition.

Medical tourism in Albania is not limited to dental clinics.

More and more visitors are thinking about the hairline, along with the coastline.

Hair transplant clinics have opened in Tirana. Some of them employ Turkish specialists, while others are branches of companies based in Turkey.

One of them is Vatanmed in Tirana.

Sales specialist and health consultant Ayşe Mina Kasemi describes the company as a “global brand,” with 15 clinics in several countries.

According to her, this international reach creates confidence in patients who travel abroad for treatment.

But Albania offers another advantage: vacations.

"When people decide to have a hair transplant here in Albania, they also want to vacation here, because Albania is a very beautiful country," says Kasemi.

However, she warns patients that the first few days after the transplant require caution.

"For the first two or three days they have to be careful – they are not allowed to be exposed to the sun."

For Anthony Hook, the sun is not a problem.

He keeps his head shaved and has no intention of following up his dental treatment with a hair transplant.

His plan is simpler: to enjoy Albania.

Beaches, landscapes, Tirana and food are part of the attraction.

“There are so many things to do in Tirana… there are so many things to do along the coast, it’s absolutely stunning,” he says.

And there's another reason why he wants to come back soon.

“I want to do it now, before it gets too popular and goes bankrupt like every other place.”

With new teeth, tasting Albanian cuisine will definitely be part of his program.

After all, that new smile will shine in your vacation photos too.

 


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