Starting with seniors, the Canadian Dental Care Plan will provide coverage for those without insurance and who have a family net income below $90,000.DARRYL DYCK/The Globe and Mail
The federal government has released the timeline for its dental insurance program, which will begin its rollout for seniors aged 87 and older starting this month.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan will provide coverage for Canadians who have no access to insurance and a family net income below $90,000. Around nine million Canadians currently do not have access to dental care, according to Health Minister Mark Holland.
The national dental care program was part of a supply-and-confidence agreement the minority Liberal government made with the NDP in 2022. The full implementation of the CDCP will be complete by 2025.
Here’s who is eligible for the plan, which services will be covered and when the plan will come into effect.
Who is eligible?
To qualify for the dental care plan, Canadians must meet the following criteria:
- No access to dental insurance through their work, a family member’s employer benefits, a pension plan or a family member’s pension plan, or a private plan
- A family net income below $90,000
- Resident of Canada
- Have filed a tax return the previous year
Canadians who have access to dental coverage through a social program offered by a province or territory, such as Healthy Smiles Ontario, a government-funded dental program for children of low-income families, can still qualify if they meet the other criteria.
When will the plan come into effect?
Starting Feb. 1, seniors aged 72 and over will be able to apply for the federal dental plan. As Jan. 31, around 20,000 individuals have signed up daily through the plan’s phone application system, according to Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech.
Between February and June, Service Canada will notify people in four age groups of their eligibility to register for the dental plan. On March 1, Canadians 70 to 71 will be able to apply, then those 65 and older in May. The online application system will also launch in May.
In June, eligibility will extend to individuals with a valid disability tax credit certificate and children under the age of 18. Eligible individuals between 18 and 64 will be able to apply starting in 2025.
Canadians who have applied, qualified and are enrolled in the expanded benefit will be able to start receiving oral health care as soon as May.
The Canada Dental Benefit was first launched in December, 2022 for children under 12 and will continue to be available until June 30.
How to apply for the plan
Starting this month, letters will be mailed to potentially eligible seniors informing them that they may qualify for the plan. The letter will include a personalized application code.
Federal officials said that seniors aged 65 to 69, and other eligible Canadians, will be able to apply online through the Service Canada website starting in May.
Which services will be covered in the plan?
The plan will cover services by dentists and dental hygienists, as well as specialists including oral surgeons and periodontists. Examples of services that will be covered include cleaning, polishing, sealants and fluoride; examinations and x-rays, fillings and root canals; prosthodontic services such as complete and partial removable dentures; deep scaling and extractions.
The government says it will be releasing more details on the services covered online.
The earliest Canadians who are enrolled CDCP will be able to start seeing a dentist or other oral care provider will be May. Coverage begins on the date provided in the welcome package from Sun Life, the private benefits provider that the government has contracted to deliver the program.
How much will be covered?
The services will be fully covered for families with net incomes below $70,000. Families with net incomes between $70,000 and $79,999 will be required to cover 40 per cent of the cost, known as a co-pay. That co-pay percentage rises to 60 per cent for families with incomes between $80,000 and $89,999.
Will there be restrictions on the plan? What are they?
Canadians will only be able to see dentists and oral care specialists who are enrolled in the CDCP program. Participating in the program is voluntary, and providers can start enrolling starting in early 2024.
When booking an appointment, patients should confirm the provider is enrolled in CDCP to limit unexpected payments.
Do you have a question about the new federal dental insurance plan? Submit your question below or email it to audience@globeandmail.com and we’ll try to get it answered for you.
Do you have a question about the new federal dental insurance plan?
The federal government has released more details about the Canadian Dental Coverage Plan. Submit your questions below.
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With reports from Bill Curry and Carly Weeks