Canadian Dental Care Plan

The Canadian Dental Care Plan is a dental insurance program funded by the Government of Canada to provide dentistry services to uninsured Canadians that meet certain criteria. It replaces a temporary dental benefit program established in 2022 for children under 12 who did not have dental insurance coverage, which will be terminated in June 2024.

In the 2022 federal budget, the impending program was estimated to cost $1.7 billion annually. The 2023 Canadian federal budget allocated $23 million over two years to collect oral health data for use of the program, $13 billion for Health Canada to implement the program over five years, and $4.4 billion annually thereafter for program costs.

The program began its staggered enrollment rollout in December 2023 with mailings to individuals at least 87 years old.