Man took his own life after losing all his teeth in failed dental treatment in Turkey

A man took his own life after a botched dental treatment in Turkey left him no teeth, an inquest has heard.

Pawel Bukowski, 48, died in April last year after he fell into a mental health crisis over the failed medical procedure.

The dad-of-three went to a cut-price clinic after he spent years suffering with a chronic dental condition.

He paid for his teeth to be taken out and later replaced by implants to address the problem.

Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich heard that he had expected to be given temporary dentures in January 2025 before the permanent implants.

But he was sent home without any dentures after his teeth were removed and told he would have to wait six months before the implants were fitted.

His wife Daria Bukowska told the hearing: ‘Unfortunately, after removing all of his teeth, the clinic told him they could not proceed further.

‘They sent him home without any teeth and told him to return in six months. This was emotionally devastating for him.

‘He was deeply broken emotionally, losing his teeth had destroyed his self-confidence and sense of hope. Despite our constant support, from me and his daughters, he was slipping away from us.’

The loss of his teeth had shattered his confidence and caused his mental health to spiral.

Mr Bukowski, who was born in Poland and had lived in the UK for two decades, struggled to eat properly and began drinking heavily.

‘He lost all hope that things could improve. Despite all our efforts to support him, we were ultimately unable to save him,’ Ms Bukowska added.

Emergency services were called on the evening of April 24, 2025, when Mr Bukowski was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. 

The dad was referred to the mental health liaison team where a practitioner concluded he was ‘hopeless with a strong suicidal ideation’, the court heard.

There were concerns for his ‘safety and wellbeing’ but it was decided he did not require psychiatric admission due to ‘sufficient protective factors’ and ‘some evidence of future planning’.

It was said that Pawel was sent home to his family, who were given a small supply of medication for him, but that the following day the nurse was unable to prescribe further medication due to concerns over his ‘heavy drinking’.

A psychiatrist visited Pawel on April 28 three hours later than arranged, due to staff sickness, and found him dead in his Watton, Norfolk, home on April 28 last year.

His wife criticised his care, saying the severity of his problems had been ‘overlooked at every chance’.

She said in a statement to the court: ‘He was never given anything to help with the withdrawal symptoms [of alcohol].

‘He was not given the medication he needed to keep him going for a few days. Workers did not show up, did not call us back, and finally were late.

‘The accumulation of these things, the lack of communication, ultimately lead to where we are today.

‘We as a family were not supported whatsoever with signs to look out for suicide, how to manage his withdrawal, how to support him.

‘We trusted the expertise of workers to help us and him to get through this. Pawel may be just another case to people. To us, he was our world. We loved him deeply, and now we have to live through our worst nightmare.

‘Pawel was failed at crucial points. I hope that this is never repeated, that other families get to keep their dads, husbands, brothers and sons. Pawel deserved better.’

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust carried out an investigation following Mr Bukowski’s death.

The coroner Ms Thompson said: ‘An investigation following his death did identify several lessons learnt.

‘It is clear there were factors which impacted upon the care provided to Pawel.

‘He’d not been admitted when he presented to hospital with concerning suicidal ideation, and this may have been a missed opportunity for him to receive more intensive intervention than that which occurred.’

Paying tribute, his wife, Daria Bukowska, said: ‘Pawel was my beloved husband, the father of our daughter, and a wonderful stepfather to my two daughters from a previous relationship. He was a son, a brother and a valued friend. 

‘Pawel was incredibly skilled and resourceful, what you’d call a handy man. He would carry out any renovation by himself. He was intelligent, well-read and had wide-ranging interests. One of his greatest passions was fishing. 

‘Pawel was a good man, a loving husband and a devoted father. We miss him terribly and I deeply regret that we couldn’t help him in time. We shared a deep love.’

Anthony Deery, Chief Nurse at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We would like to offer our sincere condolences to Pawel’s family and apologise for the distress that his sad loss has caused.

‘We have carefully reviewed the care which Pawel received before his sad death and will now review the coroner’s findings in more detail to see whether there are any improvements we could make.’

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