Canada Dental Care Plan to Include More Canadians. Families in Canada with children under 18 may be eligible for the new Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP) as of June 27. This program aims to lessen the financial burden of paying for dental care out of pocket for people who don’t have access to a private dental plan—which is usually offered through job benefits for full-time employees—and who fall below a certain income threshold.

There are phases to the CDCP’s implementation. Beginning on June 27, the first phase caters to families with children under the age of 18. The second phase will start in December 2023 and will allow seniors 65 years of age and above to apply.

Children under the age of 18 and individuals with disabilities will receive coverage under the CDCP during the second phase. This expansion aims to provide comprehensive dental care to vulnerable populations. This guarantees that dental care for youngsters between the ages of 12 and 18 won’t cost eligible newcomers anything. Under the past, children under the age of twelve were covered by the Canada Dental Benefit. The plan will be made available to all eligible Canadians starting at a later point in 2025.

Eligibility of Temporary Residents for the Canada Dental Care Plan 

To use the Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP), a person must fulfill certain requirements, according to Service Canada. They have to:

  • Not have access to a dental insurance plan.
  • Have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000.
  • Have filed a tax return in the previous year.
  • Be a Canadian resident for tax purposes.

According to the final condition, individuals who are in Canada on work or study permits and are considered temporary residents are qualified if they possess one of the following residency codes on their most recent Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):

The residency codes considered eligible for the Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP) are 0, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 12. Conversely, the residency codes deemed ineligible for the CDCP are 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 13, and 15.

In order to provide coverage, Sun Life, on behalf of the Canadian government, shares application information with the insurance provider. Sun Life will provide the following after enrollment:

  • Details regarding the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP)
  • A member card
  • The effective start date of coverage

As per the notification made by Service Canada, oral health practitioners will no longer require formal registration with the CDCP as they will be able to bill Sun Life directly for services performed on a claim-by-claim basis starting on July 8, 2024.

As such, after July 8, participants will be free to see any dentist who can bill Sun Life directly for their services. Clients must seek dental care from a dentist who has been authorized to participate in the program before this date. This requirement ensures compliance with program regulations.

Dental Care Costs in Canada – Understanding Expenses and Coverage

The costs of dental treatment typically fall disproportionately on the shoulders of newcomers. The main reason for this is that they are more likely to work low-paying part-time jobs or perform “gig” employment, which usually does not provide dental insurance.

This discrepancy was brought to light in a March of last year Statistics Canada study. It showed that while part-time employment for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) increased by 49,000 and for immigrants by 113,000, part-time employment for workers who were born in Canada decreased by 126,000. Thus, the rise in part-time employment among TFWs and immigrants as a whole more than offset the fall in lower-skilled part-time employment among Canadian-born workers.

In Canada, provincial or federal health programs have not often paid for dental care costs. This implies that patients are responsible for covering the entire cost of services, regardless of whether they are partially covered by private insurance or paid out of pocket. These services range from routine checkups and cleanings to more complex procedures such as root canals or dental crowns.

Dental visits are usually priced in accordance with a fee schedule issued by a dentists’ group in the province. Nevertheless, individual dentists are free to determine their own fees; these suggested fees are not legally enforceable.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced in a speech last May that the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) aims to extend dental care to approximately nine million Canadians. These individuals currently lack access to such services.