Question Period Note: Dental Care

Government of Canada launching the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Having access to quality oral health care is an integral part of overall health. Seeing an oral health professional is important for our health, but can be expensive.
One third of the people living in Canada do not have dental insurance. In 2022, one in four Canadians reported avoiding visiting an oral health care professional because of the cost. Delaying care can have wide-reaching impacts, including more expensive treatments and worsening health outcomes. 
The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a historic new investment. We estimate that the CDCP will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for up to 9 million Canadian residents who fall within the below $90,000 adjusted family net income range and who are uninsured.
We are enrolling eligible individuals into the plan gradually to make sure they can have a smooth application and enrolment process. By starting with seniors, and then moving to adults with disabilities and children, we are starting with those who have the highest unmet oral health needs. By 2025, applications will be open for all eligible Canadian residents.
IF PRESSED ON PLAN ROLL OUT…
Canadians who are enrolled in the CDCP will be able to start seeing an oral health provider as early as May 2024 in a phased approach. The start date to access oral health care covered under the CDCP will vary based on when the application is received and when enrolment is completed.
To ensure that is no gap in coverage between the interim Canada Dental Benefit (which expires June 30, 2024) and the CDCP, children under 18 will be able to apply to the CDCP starting in June 2024 to get care starting in July 2024.
IF PRESSED ON SERVICE VOLUMES
Throughout the application process, Canadian residents will be able to count on client service from Service Canada through a dedicated call centre and/or by visiting a Service Canada Centre. Service Canada will also work through its established community outreach network to raise awareness and facilitate access to the CDCP with eligible populations.
Oral health providers will be invited to enrol in the CDCP through Sun Life, starting in February 2024.
IF PRESSED ON SERVICES COVERED…
The Canadian Dental Care Plan will help cover the cost of various oral health care services, focusing on what is medically necessary on the recommendation of an oral health care provider, with built-in flexibility to meet broad needs.
Services that could be covered under the CDCP include the following, with some services only becoming available in fall 2024:
o preventive services, including scaling (cleaning), polishing, sealants, and fluoride
o diagnostic services, including examinations and x-rays
o restorative services, including fillings
o endodontic services, including root canal treatments
o prosthodontic services, including complete and partial removable dentures
o periodontal services, including deep scaling
o oral surgery services, including extractions.
IF PRESSED ON F-P/T ENGAGEMENT…
The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a national program that will be implemented simultaneously across all thirteen provinces and territories. The Government of Canada has been and will continue to engage and collaborate with all provinces and territories, and other key partners, to guarantee a successful launch of the Plan.
Health Canada is currently engaging provinces and territories to help identify the process for the coordination of benefits between the CDCP and provincial and territorial publicly funded programs, to ensure no duplication of coverage and no gaps in care.
IF PRESSED ON THIRD PARTY CONTRACTOR…
Public Services and Procurement Canada ran an open, multi-stage, competitive procurement process to select a third-party benefits administrator. As a result, a contract was awarded to Sun Life to act as the benefits administrator for the CDCP.
PSPC engaged the services of a third-party firm to act as an independent Fairness Monitor. The Fairness Monitor’s duties included, but were not limited to, observing all the procurement process; providing feedback to the Government of Canada on any potential fairness issues; and attesting to the fairness, openness, and transparency of the entire procurement process.
IF PRESSED ON DISPLACEMENT…
The Canadian Dental Care Plan is intended to help those who currently have no way to access coverage, not to replace current employer responsibilities toward their employees and the benefits they offer as part of their competitive compensation packages.
Based on the income threshold and associated co-payment structure, most employees will be better off under their current employer plans.
We anticipate that in most cases employer-sponsored insurance will be maintained by businesses for the benefit of their employees.

Budget 2023
Budget 2023 announced $13.1 billion over five years and $4.4 billion ongoing for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. It also allocated $250 million over three years, starting in 2025-26, and $75 million ongoing to Health Canada to establish an Oral Health Access Fund. The fund will complement the Canadian Dental Care Plan by investing in targeted measures to address oral health gaps among vulnerable populations and reduce barriers to accessing care, including in rural and remote communities. Lastly, Budget 2023 provided $23.1 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to Statistics Canada to collect data on oral health and access to dental care in Canada, which will inform the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
Budget 2022 previously announced $5.3 billion over five years and $1.7 billion ongoing. A portion of these funds were allocated to launch the Canada Dental Benefit, a direct payment totalling up to $650 per year per child under 12 years of age. Applications for the first benefit period became available on December 1, 2022, and the second-year applications launched on July 1, 2023.
Current Dental Care Programs in Canada
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, approximately $17.6 billion was spent on dental services in 2021: 94% from private sector or out-of-pocket spending and 6% from public sector spending through existing federal and provincial plans.
New results released by Statistics Canada earlier this month show that, in 2022, more than one third of Canadians reported that they had not visited a dental professional in the past 22 months. The findings also show that just under half (49%) of Canadians in the lowest income quintile reported having seen a dental professional in the past 12 months compared with 73% of those in the highest income quintile.
Private dental insurance plans and government social dental programs help reduce out-of-pocket dental expenses. However, over one third (35%) of Canadians reported not having had any dental care expenses covered by a private or public dental insurance plan.
Provinces and territories provide coverage for medically necessary oral health services. In addition, all provinces and territories offer some form of public dental coverage, although these programs are generally targeted at a particular group (e.g., people with low incomes, children, or seniors) and vary widely in coverage across the country.
The Government of Canada also provides dental coverage for public servants, members of the Armed Forces and veterans, people incarcerated in federal correctional facilities, some newcomers, registered First Nations people and recognized Inuit.

The interim Canada Dental Benefit, launched on December 1, 2022, was the first step toward fulfilling the Government’s Budget 2022 dental care commitment. The Canada Dental Benefit provides direct payments to eligible applicants of up to $650 per child under 12 years of age and up to $1300 over two years.
As of November 22, 2023, the interim Canada Dental Benefit has helped close to 395,000 individual children get brighter smiles and healthier teeth. During the first benefit period (December 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023), approximately 323,000 children received the Canada Dental Benefit. Since the start of the second benefit period on July 1, 2023, nearly 218,000 children had received the benefit (. In addition, a total of over $350M in benefit payments had been issued to help Canadian families who need it most cover dental care expenses for their children under 12 years of age.
To meet anticipated demand and ensure a smooth process, the CDCP will be rolled out using a phased approach over the coming months, starting with seniors. Applications will first open for seniors aged 87 and above in December 2023, expanding in phases to those aged 77 to 86 in January 2024, followed by those aged 72 to 76 in February, then those aged 70 to 71 in March.. Individuals in these age groups who may be eligible will receive letters inviting them to apply, with instructions on how to validate their eligibility and apply by telephone.
In May 2024, applications will open for eligible seniors 65 and older through an online portal.
Adults between 18 and 64 with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate and children under the age of 18 will be able to apply online as of June 2024. All remaining eligible Canadian residents between the ages of 18 and 64 will be able to apply online in 2025.