Question Period Note: Dental Care

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KEY MESSAGES
• Having access to quality oral health care is an important part of overall health.
• The cost of seeing an oral health professional can be a barrier for many Canadians.
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is making oral health care more affordable for millions of Canadian residents. Thanks to the CDCP, some people are seeing a dentist for the first time in decades.
• Now, as of May 1, millions more Canadian residents aged 18 to 64 are eligible to enrol into the CDCP and receive the care they need.
IF PRESSED …
Q1: If pressed on Canadian residents with access to private insurance who wish to enrol in the CDCP
A1:
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan is designed to fill a gap and help make dental care more affordable for Canadian families that do not have access to private insurance.
• The CDCP is not intended to replace employer-sponsored benefits plans that are offered as part of competitive compensation packages.
Q2: If pressed on the risk employers will stop providing care and shift the burden onto the federal plan
A2:
• 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.
Q3: If pressed on services covered under the CDCP
A3:
• The Canadian Dental Care Plan covers comprehensive evidence-based diagnostic, preventive, surgical, and restorative services to improve oral health outcomes and meet medical needs. It has built-in flexibility to meet a broad range of needs.
• The CDCP is designed to be flexible enough to be adjusted as new evidence emerges or as the program evolves.
• 95% of services are available without preauthorization. Preauthorization is, however, used to review high-cost services against clinical criteria to ensure that those services are available based on need.
Q4 : If pressed on preauthorization approval rates under the CDCP
A4 :
• 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 over use, 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.
Q5 : If pressed on access to oral health providers or workforce shortages
A5 :
• More than 98% of oral health providers are providing care under the Canadian Dental Care Plan which means that patients have access to a wide-range of providers already..
• But with more patients joining the CDCP everyday this is something we are watching carefully.
• To date, a survey by the Oral Health Group, a Canadian media company focused on providing information and resources to dental professionals, in April 2025 indicates that 62% of CDCP patients had no trouble finding a dentist that would accept the CDCP and
59% of CDCP patients said they had not felt the impact of the dental labour shortage.
Q6: If pressed on federal-provincial and territorial engagement
A6:
• 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 each of the two provinces to find options that continue to support making oral health care more affordable for their residents.
Q7 : If pressed on the sustainability of funding for the CDCP
A7 :
• The CDCP saw pent-up demand for services in the first year that Canadians were able to receive care. This is because individuals were not able to afford care before.
• We are monitoring CDCP use and expect that demand for care will stabilize as the CDCP reaches a steady state.

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The Canadian Dental Care (CDCP) key statistics as of May 5, 2025:
• 4,582,646 million Canadian residents enrolled;
• 2,102,558 million members had received care;
• 2,512,165 CDCP members who were enrolled during the 2024-25 benefit year had successfully re-enrolled for the 2025-26 benefit year; and
• 25,829 oral health providers are voluntarily providing care under the Plan (i.e. over 98% of all providers in Canada).