The Canadian Dental Care Plan / Canada Dental Benefit

In early 2022, the federal government announced its plans to create a national dental program, the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). The government committed to:

• providing coverage for children under the age of 12 from uninsured low- and middle-income families by the end of 2022
• including under-18-year-olds, seniors and people with disabilities in 2023, and
• rolling out the program to all eligible Canadians by 2025

The CDCP will be available to families with an annual income of less than $90,000, with no co-pays for those with an annual income under $70,000.

We await more information on this plan.

The interim Canada Dental Benefit is intended to help lower dental costs for eligible families earning less than $90,000 per year. Parents and guardians can apply if the child receiving dental care is under 12 years old and does not have access to a private dental insurance plan.

Depending on your adjusted family net income, a tax-free payment of $260, $390, or $650 is available for each eligible child. This interim dental benefit is only available for 2 periods. You can get a maximum of 2 payments for each eligible child. Benefit payments are administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

The first benefit period is for children under 12 years old as of December 1, 2022, and receive dental care between October 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

Children on existing Provincial, Territorial or Federal dental plans remain eligible to apply, if they meet the eligibility criteria and have out of pocket expenses for dental treatment that are not fully covered by these dental plans.

Learn more about the Canada Dental Benefit here:

• Application process walkthrough video:
• Canada Dental Benefit What you Need to Know (PDF)
• Infographic (PDF)
• Dental Poster (PDF)
• Translated infographic content: Cantonese, Mandarin ,Punjabi (PDF)
• More Affordable Dental Care: The Canada Dental Benefit CDA FAQ.

Ready to apply? Visit the application portal on the federal government website.

Don’t delay treatments or your dental appointments!

We understand some people are thinking of delaying dental care or rethinking their benefit coverage, hoping the costs will be covered by the Plan.

It’s better to continue getting regular dental checkups now to catch problems before they become painful and expensive to treat, and apply for the plan when you are eligible to do so.

For more information on preventing dental problems, visit our Prevention page.

It’s very important to have an open dialogue with your dentist. Your dentist might be able to set up treatment and payment options that work with your financial situation. Talk to them to see what can be done to help.