From tomorrow, dental practices throughout Ireland will be obliged to display the private fee rates in a place where patients can view them before a consultation.

The dentists' regulatory body, the Dental Council, said it has issued reminders to all dentists advising that failure to display fees may lead to them being brought before a fitness to practise hearing.

The Council said it expected 100% compliance from dentists with the new fee display rules.

The Irish Dental Association (IDA), which has supported the new rules, says 97% of dentists have either reduced or frozen their fees following the economic downturn.

From tomorrow, patients will be able to check fees in advance for a range of treatments including examinations, x-rays, routine and surgical extractions, root canal work and crowns.

According to the Dental Council, a single fee may apply for some procedures while the fees for others may be shown as a range, with a minimum and maximum clearly stated.

Where a range of fees applies, dentists are not permitted to set a minimum price only, the Council says.

IDA Chief Executive Fintan Hourihan told irishhealth.com that around 47% of dentists say they have reduced their fees, while 49% have frozen fees, according to the Association's most recent survey of members.

The IDA met last week with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to discuss the impact of the removal of most dental care subsidies for PRSI workers early last year.

The Minister told the dentists' group she could not not give any guarantees about restoring some or all aspects of the scheme in the current economic climate.

Mr Hourihan said the IDA pointed to the damaging effects the removal of the subsidies was having on people's dental health