Dental implants in Albania are typically around €600 ($700; £516) per tooth, similar in price to what is charged in Turkey, which has long been the main overseas destination for people in western Europe who are seeking much cheaper dental work than they can get at home.
The same treatment in the UK, France or German can easily cost four times as much.
For Hook the appeal was irresistible. He made his first visit to Tirana to watch England’s footballers play Albania last year – but then found himself intrigued by all the signs for dentists. That nudged him into doing something about his missing teeth.
He thought he’s give Albania rather than Turkey, because he was concerned by media coverage of dental or hair transplant work in Turkey that had gone wrong.
In fact, even the UK Foreign Office warns that it is “aware of seven British nationals having died in Turkey in 2025 following medical procedures”., external It adds that “some British nationals have also experienced complications [after surgery in Turkey], and needed further treatment or surgery following their procedure.”
Hook says he wouldn’t go to Turkey “because I have heard so many bad things”, adding that he investigated thoroughly before taking the plunge in Tirana.
“I went onto the internet and looked into it properly. It took me two days to research it because I’m not one for jumping into anything.”
Several return trips later, Anthony now has a mouthful of impressive implants – and, unsurprisingly, he is all smiles. “I’d come here once a month for a holiday if I could,” he chuckles.
Elite Dental is one of the biggest clinics in Tirana. It is fully licensed by the Albanian health authorities – and so are all of its 15 resident dentists.
The man who runs the place, Ardtur Dema, says he is “not in favour of damaging proper teeth for aesthetics”. Instead he says the priority is “changing people’s lives” through restoring their ability to chew, and indeed – to smile.
Dema believes that as long as Albania remains outside the EU, prices for treatment are likely to remain low. At the same time, low-cost airlines have greatly expanded their flight network to and from Tirana, meaning that he is as likely to see a patient from Turin as he is from Tirana.
But Dema is concerned that the explosion of tourism could lead to less scrupulous operators ruining the business for everyone. He is a member of the newly-established Albanian Medical Tourism Association – but many others are not, at least not yet.
Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, tells the BBC that the government is playing catch-up after five years that have seen overall international arrivals to Albania more than double. Some sort of official seal of approval for medical tourism facilities is a possibility – but the government has yet to sort out the details.
“It’s a new industry that is within the tourism industry umbrella that is showing a big potential and where there are very good people,” says Rama.
He adds that the government wants to help all the reputable providers “survive”, and to guard against any informal “bad competition”.
