A survey which shows that dental charges in the Republic are considerably higher than those in Northern Ireland has been criticised by the Irish Dental Association.
A Consumers Association survey in this month's Consumer Choice magazine found that dentists in Dublin charged between £35 and £50 for a tooth extraction, compared with £18 to £25 in Newry.
The price differential, in Irish pounds, increases with the complexity of the treatment. A porcelain veneer costs between £300 and £350 in Dublin, £95 in Antrim and between £145 and £210 in Belfast.
A conventional bridge in Dublin costs between £450 and £500, and £475 in Cork, compared with £240 in Belfast and £145 in Portadown.
The secretary-general of the Irish Dental Association, Mr Donal Atkins, told The Irish Times it was impossible to compare prices between two separate economies, and he advised consumers to shop around in the Republic for the best prices.
He said that many people did not pay full private dental charges in the Republic because they availed of either the Dental Benefit scheme run by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs or the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, for medical card holders.
Mr Atkins criticised the Consumers Association's advice that people in the Republic should check out dentists in the North.
He said dental practices in Northern Ireland suffered from "an NHS ethos". This meant dental work was carried out much faster and it affected the quality of Northern dentists' work.
He said: "Time is crucial with self-employed people. Some years ago there was an inquiry by the World in Action programme. It found that the life-span and durability of crowns in the NHS system would need replacements every three years. In Ireland it is more likely to be 15 years."
The chief executive of the Consumers Association, Mr Stephen Brady, said: "That's an insult to Northern dentists and I think it's wrong.
"We would ask the Department of Health to look at this situation and sit down with the Dublin dentists to formalise some tiered system of charges, so that consumers can see what they're paying for. People are entitled to know."
The Consumers Association survey found significant regional variations in dental costs. Dublin was the most expensive city, with more competitive rates quoted in Galway and Limerick.
The higher costs of dental work in the Republic are causing increasing numbers of people from the Republic to travel to Northern Ireland for dental services.
According to a source at the Central Services Agency in Belfast, which deals with the payment of National Health Service dentists, from the number of phone calls received by the department "literally busloads" of people from the Republic were travelling North to avail of cheaper dental charges.
Some Northern Ireland dentists advertise in the Golden Pages in the Republic to attract private patients, many from the Border counties.
An administrator at Philip McCarter's dental clinic in Armagh confirmed that it had between 300 and 400 clients from the Republic on its books. The Beechview dental practice in Belfast has about 20 people from the Republic.
Dr Raymond Sheehan, a dentist in Dundalk, Co Louth, said that established dentists in the Border counties in the Republic did not have problems maintaining their customers, but for newer dentists it might prove more difficult.