Question Period Note: Dental Care

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KEY MESSAGES
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is an investment in the oral health of Canadians and the Canadian economy, recognizing that the cost of seeing an oral health professional is a barrier for many Canadians and that many days of work and school are missed when oral health problems are left untreated.
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is making oral health care more affordable for millions of Canadian residents who do not have access to private dental insurance. Thanks to the CDCP, on average CDCP members are saving $800 a year and are accessing care they could not previously afford. Some people are seeing a dentist for the first time in decades.
• By providing access to quality, affordable oral health care, there will be positive economic outcomes for the economy as a whole when patients get their oral health needs met and are able to more fully participate in the workforce.
IF PRESSED
Q1. If pressed on the Adjusted Family Net Income (AFNI) calculation error.
A1:
• We are committed to ensuring that publicly funded programs like the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) are administered with integrity in accordance with the eligibility criteria and with responsible stewardship of public funds.
• A very small number, approximately 1% of active plan members (approximately 70,000) have either been found to be ineligible (27,000) for the CDCP or have been assessed at an incorrect co-payment (43,000) level due to an error with the calculation of income. A system fix has already been implemented to ensure accurate income calculations.
• The Government of Canada has already begun notifying impacted individuals of changes affecting their current CDCP coverage.
Q2. If pressed on the specifics of the Adjusted Family Net Income (AFNI) error
A2:
• An error was found when calculating the adjusted family net income (AFNI) where all taxable capital gains were deducted and should not have been. This error was fixed.
• (If pressed on who identified the error – This error was discovered by CRA officials and it has been corrected).
Q3. If pressed on costs associated with the Adjusted Family Net Income (AFNI) error
A3:
• As of October 3, approximately 28,000 members affected by this error received dental care. These members will not be required to repay for services received prior to October 24, 2025.
Q4. If pressed on costs to administer the CDCP
A4:
• The CDCP represents a historic generational investment in oral health, providing affordable access to dental services for uninsured Canadians with annual family net incomes of less than $90,000.
• The CDCP has been designed to be administered using existing federal expertise and insurance infrastructure through Service Canada and Sun Life. This has kept administrative costs down, while ensuring the millions of eligible Canadians and the thousands of oral health providers participating in the CDCP have a good service experience.
Q5. If pressed on the Sun Life contract:
• Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) 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 serve as the benefits administrator for the CDCP that provides good value to Canadians.
• The CDCP, administered with the support of Sun Life, is helping make oral health care more affordable for millions of Canadians who did not previously have access to dental insurance.
Q6: If pressed on preauthorization approval rates under the CDCP
A6:
• Preauthorization is a critical tool to allow the Canadian Dental Care Plan to offer a robust basket of services while containing costs.
• When patients require access to high-cost services or services at risk of overuse, oral health providers submit a request for preauthorization. Those requests are reviewed against clinical criteria for need.
• Preauthorization under the CDCP is different than preauthorization under private dental care plans. Health Canada is working to help familiarize providers with the CDCP process so that patients who need these services can receive them.
Q7: If pressed on federal-provincial and territorial engagement
A7:
• The CDCP is being delivered in all provinces and territories.
• The Government of Canada continues to engage and collaborate with all provinces and territories to ensure the successful delivery of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, as it has from the beginning.
• The CDCP complements existing federal, provincial, and territorial oral health programs by filling existing gaps in coverage and coordination of benefits ensures no duplication of coverage.
RESPONSIVE: If pressed on Quebec and Alberta
• Quebec and Alberta have signaled their intention to opt out of the CDCP.
• The CDCP is a national program that is being implemented simultaneously across all thirteen provinces and territories, including for residents of Quebec and Alberta.
• The Government of Canada remains open to having meaningful discussions on opt-out with Quebec and Alberta to find options that continue to support making oral health care more affordable for their residents.
Q8: If pressed on the sustainability of funding for the CDCP
A8:
• The CDCP is seeing pent-up demand for services in the first year that Canadians are able to receive care through the CDCP. This is because individuals were not able to afford needed care before.
• We are monitoring CDCP use and expect that demand for care will stabilize as the CDCP reaches a steady state.
Q9. If pressed on CDCP eligibility where one spouse is a non-resident of Canada
A9:
• The CDCP is an income tested program that uses family income, not individual income, to determine eligibility.
• To confirm that an applicant’s eligibility is less than $90,000, the individual and their spouse or common-law partner, if they have one, must have filed the previous year’s income tax return in Canada.
• This means that, without tax filing information from both spouses, adjusted family net income (AFNI) cannot be assessed.
RESPONSIVE if pressed further on the eligibility of individuals with non-resident spouses
• For applicants who report that they have a spouse, but that spouse does not file tax information in Canada, the family income cannot be assessed.
• Health Canada is exploring ways to support those individuals in their applications. Given that legislative changes are likely needed, we do not have an exact date to provide at this time about when a solution may be in place.
Q10: If pressed on the risk employers will stop providing care and shift the burden onto the federal plan
A10:
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is intended to help those who currently have no way to access dental coverage, not to replace current employer responsibilities toward their employees and the benefits they offer as part of their competitive compensation packages.
• We anticipate that in most cases employer-sponsored insurance will be maintained by businesses for the benefit of their employees and that those employees will be better off with their current coverage. For example, unlike the CDCP, most employer plans have lower co-payments, may cover services the CDCP does not and do not require annual renewal.
Q11: If pressed on access to oral health providers or workforce shortages
A11:
• More than 98% of oral health providers are regularly billing to the Canadian Dental Care Plan which means that patients have access to a wide range of providers across the country.
• But with more patients joining the CDCP every day this is something we watch carefully.
Q12. If pressed on services covered by the CDCP
A12:
• The CDCP covers a range of oral health services that prevent and treat oral disease.
• These services are outlined in a transparent manner through the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide and Grids, available online.
• Eligible services covered through the CDCP include diagnostic (exams and x-rays), preventive (sealants and fluoride), restorative (fillings), endodontic (root canals), periodontal (scaling), prosthodontic (dentures), oral surgery (extractions), and sedation or adjunctive services (anesthesia).
RESPONSIVE if pressed on orthodontics (given there is a public commitment to add orthodontics to the CDCP in 2025)
• Health Canada has been rolling out services in phases, most recently adding services requiring preauthorization, such as partial dentures, crowns, additional scaling and moderate and deep sedation.
• Given the current fiscal environment, Health Canada is evaluating the timing of bringing additional CDCP services, including orthodontics, online.

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The Canadian Dental Care (CDCP) key statistics as of October 15, 2025:
• 5,605,695 Canadian residents enrolled;
• 1,852,461 members had received care for benefit year 2025 to 2026;
• 2,865,924 CDCP members who were enrolled during the 2024-25 benefit year had successfully re-enrolled for the 2025-26 benefit year; and
• 27,086 oral health providers are voluntarily providing care under the Plan (i.e. over 98% of all providers in Canada).