Every vision has its story.

Ours began in 2003 when Dr Marek Salka opened our first clinic in Piestany Spa.

In 2006, Dr. Marek met Daniel Shaw and became best friends. Their mutual love of music and commitment to treating patients with the choice, transparency, care, and extra service they deserve united them.

Confidence built on a solid track record

The dentalholiday.co.uk website was launched in 2007 and, later, in 2010, the “Smile Clinic” brand, bringing us over 15 years of experience in providing a “Dental Holiday” experience for UK patients.

The success of our brand has been achieved through providing comprehensive dental care that addresses both your short- and long-term dental care needs and providing an honest, judgment-free environment where it all comes down to affordable, accessible and better dental treatment abroad for the UK population.

We now run clinics in 2 locations – Bratislava city centre & Piešťany Spa, both close to Vienna & Bratislava airports, easily accessible directly from many UK airports such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford and Edinburgh.

The Dental Holiday team comprises almost 40 multi-lingual specialists, including an onsite dental lab.

You don’t just have to take our word for it:

During those 15+ years, we have changed more than 13000+ UK smiles for the better:

• 97.7% of our UK patients are satisfied or very satisfied with the dental treatment they receive
• 99.7% of our UK patients think Dental Holiday is easy or very easy to use
• 96.1% of our UK patients say they felt more than satisfied with the information provided through every stage of their patient journey.
• 61.5% of our UK patients said they had access to an excellent local dentist yet still chose Smile Clinic Slovakia for their dental treatment.

(the original handwritten copies of this survey are displayed in our reception areas and on this website in the dental treatment abroad reviews section)

I believe that Dental Holiday has taken a major part in transforming top European dentistry abroad by offering exceedingly excellent dental treatments including implants, restorative and cosmetic dentistry with more speed, convenience, cost savings and flexibility than high street private dentists throughout the UK. We remove the complexity and inflexibility UK patients face whenever they need to have major dental treatment. We are also a fully GCR-accredited British Dental Practice Abroad and are former members of the British and American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists.

Dental Holiday is different

Smile Clinic – Dental Holiday is different from other dental clinics because we can tell you roughly how much your dental treatment will cost and how long it will take simply from your email, or a photograph, quote, or X-ray sent to us. There’s no need even to leave the chair you’re sitting on. As for any other pressing questions – our entire service is online and real-time. We are also uniquely flexible, allowing our patients to choose exactly how they want to structure their dental treatment regarding the number of visits. And our patients certainly aren’t asked to have dental treatment that they might not need or pay more for hidden or extra costs.

Want more? All our dental treatments are fully guaranteed, and we have some of the most advanced dental equipment in the country. We’ll also help you arrange overnight accommodation if needed.

We’re fast

You’ll always get an email reply from us within 24hrs, rain or shine. Our dental lab is on-site to complete porcelain crown, bridge and veneer cases in just one visit of 4 working days, and dental implants in just 3 one day visits over 4-5 months. Even the trip abroad is hassle-free, as it’s just a 1-2hr flight from the UK. We pick you up from Bratislava or Vienna airport free of charge for the 35-45 minute drive to Piešťany spa or Bratislava city centre, where our dental clinics are located.

We’re responsible

We only do dental work that you need to have done. We want to bring trust back into dentistry. After your consultation and X-ray with one of our senior dentists, if you decide that you don’t want to go ahead, no worries, we’ll still get you back to the airport on time.

AAGGHH the dentist!

In an ideal world, no one would need dental treatment, or at least could find an excellent local dentist at a fair price. In reality, everybody has the occasional “at the dentist” moment – those times in life when you really need to get something finally done about your teeth. You need it for a lower cost and to be done A.S.A.P., painless and hassle-free. So whether it’s time to replace that denture, close that gap or finally get that smile of your dreams… Don’t worry, contact Dental Holiday right now!

Our Clinics

The UK’s leading dental clinic abroad is run by renowned dentists, dental nurses, hygienists, administrative staff, chauffeurs and dental lab technicians who ensure your entire dental treatment abroad experience is as comfortable as ever.

Our dental clinics are located in the city centres, all within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and accommodation. We have newly built and spacious dental clinics equipped with the latest digitalised dental technology, including digital microscopes, CT scans, digital impressions, and digital OPG panoramic X-rays.

Our dental clinic abides by the E.U. ISO:9001:2001 Quality Assurance System. This monitoring system ensures that all dental materials and dentistry technologies used in our dental clinic are fully compliant with EU regulations.

When you arrive, you can rest in our main room, which has English TV, magazines, free WiFi, and free tea and coffee. For smokers, there is an outside area behind the building.

It is Mark and Daniel’s goal to create a close-knit, friendly, and approachable English-speaking dental team while offering the highest quality, standards, professionalism, and ethical cosmetic surgery possible. Most Brits who have visited agree that this goal has been achieved.

For example, apart from being greeted at the airport, patients are given a personalised treatment plan with a cost quotation sheet and guarantees. After each visit the patient is once again given dental treatment plans and prices, to make sure you know that there are no hidden costs and see exactly what you will be investing in.

Even though we have struggled with Slovakia’s massive economic growth since its entry into the European Union (which has greatly affected the exchange rate), we try to keep prices at 70% off the private UK dental fees and in strong competition with our Czech, Hungarian, and Polish neighbours.

Many former clients have told Dr Mark and Daniel that their most impressive feature is the care and time they take with each individual dental client and, of course, the much-appreciated “painless” dental treatment process. Their UK patients also love that they can have their dental treatment when they wish instead of being added to some dental waiting list.

English, Italian, and German are fluently spoken in the dental clinic to ensure a better understanding between the doctor and his patient.

Our services and materials are fully insured and offer a 5-year guarantee on all their treatments. All the dental materials used are EU certified, and if their patients have any problems after their trip, they will treat them free of charge.

The Smile Clinic Slovakia – Dental Holiday Team

MUDr. Marek (Mark) Salka

Successfully led the Smile Clinic Slovakia—Dental Holiday team to become the flagship dental clinic abroad, proudly treating thousands of UK dental patients. It is his vision to design, organise, and manage superior dental treatment that improves the affordability and accessibility of the same level of quality dental treatment that a patient would receive in the UK.

Dr Mark is an Implant (Implantology), Root Canal (Endontistry), and Cosmetic Dentistry specialist. He is renowned throughout Slovakia, Hungary, Czech and Poland for his advanced implant techniques and remarkably relaxed attitude, which leads to a painless dental experience for all our visitors.

1. 90% of his clients are from the UK
2. He treats 5-7 patients daily for dental implants, crowns, root canals and veneers to create a relaxed, no-pressure dental environment.
3. He is a recognized cosmetic dentistry expert with the latest OPG x-ray systems, Ankylos implants, and advanced zirconia crowns.
4. He has served as a licensed Stomatologist in the UK, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
5. He places almost 700 dental implants annually, presently with a 97% success rate.
6. A licensed dentist in full-time practice since 2000
7. A certified dental specialist in implantology and endodontistry
8. A member of the Slovak Dental Chamber
9. Former Member of General Dental Council (British Dental Register)
10. Former Member of the American Academy Of Cosmetic Dentistry
11. Ongoing attendance of post-graduate dental training for cosmetic dentistry in the UK with the BACD
12. Awarded from the Medical University of Frankfurt as a master of Implantology.

Here are some sample certificates (click on the dental certificates for a larger view) the rest are displayed in my office 🙂

MUDr. Tomas Krcmarik – Restorative Dentistry
Dr Robo finished his dental studies in the Czech Republic and has worked in private dentistry ever since, specializing in Endontistry and preventive dentistry.

Daniel Shaw – Business Manager
During his 15 years with Dental Holiday, Daniel Shaw has helped Smile Clinic – Dental Holiday to be one of the most highly rated and trusted dental clinics abroad for overseas visitors within the European Union.  Daniel’s comprehensive dental knowledge, understanding of UK dentistry and leadership have been instrumental in establishing the Smile Clinic Slovakia brand.

Daniel originally comes from the North of England, and his office is at the dental clinic.

You can read a recent interview with him about Dental Holiday here:

what’s the Dental Holiday story

Daniel has spoken at various conferences and loves to share his knowledge of medical tourism, patient communication or internet marketing for dentists. Please use our contact form if you’d like to book Daniel Shaw as a key speaker at your next event.

Natália – patient manager provides individual patient treatment plans and ensures each patient has his or her own coordinated care plan and services. The care plan is optimized for the individual before and after every treatment.

Monika – the receptionist, will ensure you relax and feel entirely comfortable upon your arrival at our dental clinic. She will take care of all our UK clients’ financial transactions and logistics. She also makes a great cup of tea…

Dano – dental patient transportation driver assures safe transportation of patients to and from the airport to the dental clinic. He is the first person to greet and welcome you upon your arrival at the airport. He will help in getting you settled in your accommodation, and make sure that you get back to the airport safely and on time.

Dental Nurses – Our attentive dental nurses will help your dental treatment be as comfortable and painless as possible whilst assisting Dr Mark

Monika is a fully qualified medical nurse who leads our team of dental nurses. She speaks English, Dutch, Slovak, and Czech.

Elena has been a fully qualified medical nurse and dental assistant for the past 13 years, and she has been with us for the past 5 years. She enjoys mostly working with our Endodontist and also studies Physiotherapy outside of her work at our dental clinic. She speaks English, German, Czech, Slovak & Russian

Barbora – Dental Hygienist will bring your teeth and gums to full health using various polishing, scaling, brushing and stain removing techniques. She is also competent in all forms of tooth whitening systems including ZOOM! and Opalescence.

As you can see we are a varied and international bunch of people!

Dental Labs

Our computerized dental labs are situated down the street from our dental clinic. They are staffed by six lab technicians who work daily to create dental work handcrafted from the best quality material, assisted by the latest digital technology, such as CEREC and CAD-CAM.

We need the labs close by so that minor adjustments can be made even during your short visits. Therefore, you may see some of the lab technicians personally, as they often visit the dental clinic to check on how your dental work is going.