Patient Experience
As an 82-year-old with a lifelong fear of dentists, I was terrified when my old bridge collapsed. Dr. İrem was a revelation. She didn't just see a broken tooth; she saw my anxiety. Before any procedure at Acibadem Altunizade, she spent 20 minutes explaining everything in simple Turkish, showing me the 3D imaging of my jaw. During the implant surgery, her assistant played soft Anadolu music at my request. The follow-up felt like visiting a caring niece. She even called my daughter to explain the home care. For the first time, dental treatment felt like healing, not punishment.
Our 7-year-old son, Deniz, fell at school and completely avulsed his front tooth. We rushed to Acibadem in panic, tooth in milk. Dr. İrem's emergency team was waiting. What struck me wasn't just her surgical skill in reimplanting it, but how she transformed trauma into a game. She called Deniz 'little astronaut' and the procedure 'tooth rescue mission.' She used augmented reality on a tablet to show how the tooth would reattach. For weeks after, Deniz drew pictures for 'Dr. İrem the tooth hero.' Her pediatric approach turned our nightmare into a story our son now proudly tells.
I'm a 34-year-old musician with a complex dental history—failed root canals, bone loss, and chronic pain that affected my trumpet playing. Multiple dentists offered piecemeal solutions. Dr. İrem proposed a comprehensive 'orchestration' at Acibadem Altunizade: sinus lift, implants, and prosthetic work coordinated in phases. She collaborated with an ENT specialist within the hospital without me needing to schedule separately. Most remarkably, she recorded my embouchure (mouth position for trumpet) pre-surgery and used it to shape my crowns. The result isn't just functional—it's artistically tailored. I play with better resonance than before the problems began.
What I thought was a routine checkup revealed a rare odontogenic keratocyst in my jaw. Dr. İrem's approach was methodical yet deeply human. She didn't just present the surgical plan; she created a visual timeline with recovery milestones and even nutrition suggestions for each phase. During the enucleation procedure at Acibadem, she used piezoelectric surgery that minimized trauma. But her true excellence showed in the year-long follow-up. She noticed subtle tissue changes on a routine scan that indicated recurrence risk, catching it at stage zero. Her vigilance isn't just clinical—it's a form of guardianship I've never experienced in healthcare.