The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is  intended to help millions of people without dental benefits access essential oral health care. Although this is a positive historic investment, CARP has a great many concerns with the way the program has unfolded to date. You can read about these here.

HEre is what you need to keep in mind as the plan continues to unfold.

1. If you need dental care, don’t wait. 

While thousands of Canadians have already applied for the program (you can find information about eligibility and how to apply here), it has been suggested that no coverage will be available until at least the fall of 2024. Given the shifting timelines and lack of clarity on implementation, CARP is urging members not to delay needed dental work.2.

2. Not all dental procedures will be covered. 

There is not yet clarity on precisely what will be covered, but the government has provided information about dental services that, “could” be covered.

3. There are still no firm agreements between the federal and provincial governments regarding who is covering what.

Some provinces have dental coverage. Will those provinces continue to provide coverage or will coverage switch to federal responsibility? This one of many details of implementation that has yet to be determined.

4. It is very unfortunate that politicians made promises before there were concrete plans to deliver on those promises.

This is particularly the case for those who took actions such as switching out of existing private dental coverage in order to qualify for the anticipated national coverage , only to find themselves without any coverage.

5. CARP is urging the federal government and Dental Associations to move quickly on all negotiations with the aim of launching dental care.

 

Need a reminder of why oral health care is so important? Read about that here.