Canadian Dental Care Plan FAQ

The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is a federal government program that is intended to provide coverage for Canadian residents who do not have access to dental benefits and have a household income of less than $90,000 a year. You need to know that this is a government dental benefit; it is not a free dental program.

The CDCP is for Canadians who do not have access to dental benefits. It is not intended to replace benefits that people already have access to benefits through work, school or private plans. 

The CDCP is managed by Health Canada and administered by Sun Life. Dentists are not involved in deciding who is eligible or what services are covered.

Please see the FAQ page we’ve developed specifically for dentists.

Check your eligibility on the Canadian government website or contact its helpline at 1-833-537-4342 between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday.

All Canadians who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for the CDCP online.

Individuals who qualify will be sent a welcome package by Sun Life with a member card, co-payment information and the start date for when their oral health care services will be covered under the CDCP. Your coverage start date will be based on when your application is received and when you are enrolled in the CDCP. The coverage start date will vary for each person. 

The ODA does not run or manage the CDCP. It is a Government of Canada program. We cannot help you apply or answer questions about your eligibility for the CDCP. For more information visit canada.ca/dental.

Yes. If you are currently covered under the CDCP, you will need to renew your coverage each year to confirm that you continue to meet all eligibility requirements.

Once you have filed your 2024 tax return and received your Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency, you can renew your coverage at canada.ca/dental. This must be completed before June 1, 2025.

Once your renewal application is completed, you will receive a determination letter confirming whether you remain eligible under the CDCP, with coverage effective from the renewal start date and valid until June 30, 2026. Review all the information in your determination letter to confirm any changes, including adjustments to your co-payment level, if applicable, as it could be different based on your 2024 adjusted family net income. If you have any changes to your coverage or co-payment levels, inform your provider by bringing your letter to your next appointment.

If you apply to renew your coverage but are found to be no longer eligible or you don’t renew before the June 1, 2025, deadline, your coverage under the CDCP will end on June 30, 2025.

Please don’t delay treatments or your dental appointments! It’s better to keep getting regular dental checkups now to catch problems before they become painful and expensive to treat. For more information on preventing dental problems, visit our Care and Disease Prevention page.

The CDCP does not provide free dental care. It is a government dental benefit that covers a part of the cost of your care. You may have to pay the portion of costs that are not covered.

Patients may be required to make a co-payment (that is, pay for a portion of their dental care under the CDCP) depending on their adjusted family net income, as follows:

• No co-payment of the CDCP benefit for those with an adjusted annual family net income under $70,000.
• A 40 per cent co-payment of the CDCP benefit for those with an adjusted annual family net income between $70,000 and $79,999.
• A 60 per cent co-payment of the CDCP benefit for those with an adjusted annual family net income between $80,000 and $89,999.

Dentists have the choice to bill their usual and standard fees. In addition to the potential co-payment, you may have to pay the portion of a dentist’s usual and standard fees that aren’t covered by the CDCP.

When booking your dental appointment, talk to your dentist about the costs of your treatment and any costs that won’t be covered by the CDCP.

The ODA does not have further information about the additional fees that dental offices may individually choose to bill patients enrolled in the CDCP and cannot enter into a discussion about fees on your behalf.

Examples of services that could be covered under the CDCP when recommended by your dentist include:

• Scaling (cleaning), polishing, sealants, and fluoride
• Examinations and X-rays
• Fillings and root canal treatments
• Complete and partial removable dentures
• Oral surgery services, including extractions

Some services will require preauthorization, which means prior approval is needed. This will be based on a dentist’s recommendations. Before the treatment begins, your dentist will check to see if it will be covered under the CDCP. 

For full information on all services covered, go to the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide.

If you are covered under other government dental programs (such as Healthy Smiles Ontario and the Ontario Disability Support Program) and are eligible for the CDCP, you will be able to apply. Benefits will be coordinated between the programs, which means that your coverage will not be duplicated.

Health Canada has released a fact sheet that provides more information.  

You are entitled to all the benefits you qualify for. The CDCP is a new dental benefit that will work with your coverage under Healthy Smiles Ontario (HSO) or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

In fact, the CDCP is better funded and in many ways provides greater coverage than many provincial dental programs, including HSO and benefits through ODSP and Ontario Works (OW).

Provincial dental programs only cover a small portion of the cost of your dental care. For every $100 of treatment, a dental office only gets paid around $33 from the provincial government. This makes it harder for them care for you and everyone who needs care.
The CDCP will help to cover some of that gap, which will help to ensure dentists are able to provide care to everyone who needs it over the long term.

Participation in the CDCP could make it easier for people with benefits through a provincial dental program to receive care. Your help in applying for the CDCP if you don’t already have it, and spreading the word, is appreciated.

No. Participation in the CDCP is voluntary. 

The ODA does not have a list of providers participating in the CDCP.  To find a participating dentist please visit Sun Life’s website.

Your dentist can continue to provide you with the same level of care and treatment, but the costs won’t be covered by the CDCP.

As a first step, speak with your dentist to see if they are participating or plan to participate.

Sun Life manages a list of dentists participating in the CDCP.

The ODA does not have a list of participating dentists and is unable assist you in finding a participating dentist.

No. Oral health providers participating in the CDCP must abide by the program’s terms and conditions, which require them to submit claims to Sun Life and be reimbursed directly. Patients cannot be reimbursed by the CDCP. 

It’s very important to speak openly with your dentist. They might be able to set up treatment and payment options that work with your financial situation. Give them a call to see what can be done to help.

You may be eligible for other programs run by municipal (local), provincial and federal governments to help eligible people in need access dental care. Learn more on our Government Dental Programs page. 

No. The CDCP is designed for Canadian residents who do not have dental benefits. To qualify for the CDCP, you must not have access to any type of dental insurance or coverage through:

• Your employer or a family member’s employer benefits, including health and wellness accounts.
• A professional or student organization;
• Your pension benefits (previous employer) or a family member’s pension benefits.
  • Exception: You may be eligible for the CDCP if you’re retired and you opted out of pension benefits before December 11, 2023, and you can’t opt back in under the pension rules.
• Coverage purchased by yourself or by a family member or through a group plan from an insurance or benefits company.

Did you know? If you’re eligible for dental coverage through your employment benefits or a professional or student organization, you are not eligible for CDCP. This is true even if you decide not to take it or use it.

The Canada Revenue Agency now requires employers to report on their T4/T4A whether their employees and their families had access to dental insurance coverage, including spending and wellness accounts.

The ODA does not recommend cancelling your existing dental coverage thinking that the CDCP will replace those benefits. Please take a careful look at your current coverage and how it compares to the CDCP. It may be that getting dental care with CDCP coverage is more costly than your private insurance. Make sure you understand all the details and costs of your coverage so that you can make the best decision for you and/or your family.

More details on whether you are eligible for the CDCP are on canada.ca/dental.

We don’t know and this should concern us all. Two-thirds of Canadians have dental benefits provided by their work, school, or other group plans. These plans give them the choice of which dentist they would like to see, and the right to choose what dental care they get.

Dentists believe that the CDCP should improve access to care for people who don’t have benefits. The CDCP should not take away dental benefits that people already have.

A recent study showed that a third of Canadians would not support a dental care plan which would cause them to lose their employer-provided dental coverage. This is why we need the federal government to tell us what they are planning to do to protect your existing dental benefits.

The government has stated that the CDCP is not intended to replace existing workplace or private dental benefits. The ODA strongly encourages employers and other groups to keep the dental benefits for their employees and members, so they don’t lose access to dental care.

The CDCP is a set plan that provides the same coverage to everyone. It is not customizable and does not cover the full cost of care. You may have a co-payment and you may be responsible for paying the fees the CDCP does not cover.

The CDCP has built-in co-payments based on family income. If your adjusted family net income is between $70,000 and $79,999, you will be responsible for paying 40 per cent of the amount covered by the CDCP, and if it’s between $80,000 and $89,999, you will be responsible for paying 60 per cent of the amount covered by the CDCP.

With a private plan, you can go to any dentist of your choice and you always have the right submit a claim yourself and be reimbursed directly. You cannot be reimbursed directly for a CDCP claim, so you must visit a dentist who chooses to participate.

Under the CDCP, some treatments are not covered at all and others require the government to pre-authorize them before the dentist can proceed with providing the necessary treatment.