The Canadian Dental Care Plan is now available to millions more, with coverage starting in June. Here's who's eligible

Hamilton Spectator

2 days ago

The federal government has expanded the eligibility for its Canadian Dental Care Plan, providing access to millions of more people across the country for affordable oral health services.
The dental plan, now in its second year, originally prioritized seniors over 70 and has since expanded in phases over May to include 55- to 64-year-olds, 18- to 34-year-olds and now 35- to-54-year-olds who meet the program requirements. Coverage will be available as early as Sunday, June 1, the
government said in a release
in March.
The dental plan, now in its second year, originally prioritized seniors over 70 and has since expanded in phases to include 55- to 64-year-olds, 18- to 34-year-olds and now 35- to-54-year-olds who meet the program requirements. Coverage will be available as early as Sunday,
the government said in an release in March
.
In the program's first year, more than 3.4 million Canadians were approved to be part of the plan, with a total of 1.7 million people having accessed care, according to the government of Canada.
The dental-care program, which was first rolled out in December 2023, was the result of
the supply-and-confidence agreement
signed by the NDP and the minority Liberal government in 2022.
The Canadian Dental Plan is a federal government program meant to help uninsured Canadians access dental care at little or no cost.
While the goal of the Canadian Dental Care Plan is to make dental care more affordable for everyone, services may not be completely free, with the level of coverage depending on your own household income.
Under the dental plan, a household with a total annual income of less than $70,000 would have dental services fully covered — or 100 per cent of the cost of the services.
For a household with an annual income between $70,000 and $79,999, 60 per cent of the costs of the eligible dental services would be covered.
If your annual household income is between $80,000 and $89,999, 40 per cent of the costs of the eligible dental services would be covered.
Households with an annual income above $90,000 are not eligible.
To qualify, you need to:
You'll need to provide the following information
to apply for the plan
:
If you enrolled in the dental plan before May 1, 2025, you need to
apply to renew your coverage.
If you renew after June 1, your coverage will end on June 30, 2025 and you could face gaps in your coverage.
After applying to renew, you will receive a letter confirming whether you remain eligible under the plan, with coverage effective from the renewal start date and valid until June 30, 2026.
With files from The Canadian Press