Canadian Dental Care Plan

Information for Ontario patients
FAQs for Ontario patients
Information for Ontario dentists
FAQs for Ontario dentists

The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) brings transformative change to the oral health care landscape.

The College will continue to play an important role to support dentists and the public in understanding key elements of the CDCP. This includes information about the enrollment process so that dentists can continue providing care to patients who need it most.

Information for Ontario patients

About the Canadian Dental Care Plan

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

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.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to enroll in CDCP you must meet all of the following criteria:

have no access to dental insurance;
an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000;
be a Canadian resident for tax purposes; and
have filed a tax return in the previous year.

Please note the CDCP is a program of the Government of Canada. We cannot help you apply or answer questions about your eligibility. For more information on eligibility, visit canada.ca/dental.

How to apply

Eligible Canadians aged 70 and above received a letter in the mail with a personalized application code and instructions on how to apply based on the application schedule below.

Adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate, children under 18 and remaining eligible Canadian residents will be able to register online, based on the application schedule below.

Group	Application Opens
Seniors aged 87 and above	December 2023
Seniors aged 77 to 86	January 2024
Seniors aged 72 to 76	February 2024
Seniors aged 70 to 71	March 2024
Seniors aged 65 to 69	May 2024
Adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate	June 2024
Children under the age of 18	June 2024
All remaining eligible Canadian residents	In 2025

The CDCP is managed by Sun Life. Once enrolled, you will receive a welcome package in the mail which will include:

information on the CDCP
your member card
your coverage start date

Services covered by the CDCP

For a complete overview of the plan, please read the Government of Canada’s Dental Benefit Guide.

For additional information, please visit the CDCP webpage and read the CDCP FAQs for Ontario patients below.

We will continue to keep the public updated as we receive more information.

FAQs for Ontario patients

What do I need to do prior to booking a dentist appointment? What happens if I am covered under another dental program?

The CDCP will be the primary payer relative to all Ontario dental programs. Where coordination is possible, Ontario's programs - the Heathy Smiles Ontario Program and the Ontario Disability Support Program - will serve as the secondary payer for CDCP recipients.

Read this fact sheet for more information on the coordination process for each of Ontario's dental programs available on the government's website.

How much does the CDCP cover? How do I access the online application portal? What if my dentist is not participating in the CDCP?

Information for Ontario dentists

To participate in the Canadian Dental Care Plan, dentists can:

Sign up as a participating CDCP provider directly with Sun Life or,
Direct bill Sun Life for services provided on a claim-by-claim basis if they do not wish to formally sign up, starting July 8, 2024. > Learn more

Dentists participating in the CDCP will need to sign the CDCP Claims Processing and Payment Agreement.

The agreement asks that all participants undertake the following steps:

validate CDCP client information
confirm eligible services under the CDCP
agree to receive direct payment from Sun Life for the services covered under the CDCP
provide information related to the claims submitted to the CDCP in accordance with the CDCP claims verification process and procedures

For information regarding fees, please visit the dental benefit grids available on Sun Life’s website.

See the CDCP FAQs below for more information about the program, enrollment and management of the plan through Sun Life.

For a complete overview of the plan including scope of coverage see the Government of Canada’s Dental Benefit Guide.

We will continue to keep the profession updated as we receive more information.

FAQs for dentists

As a dentist, how do I enroll in the program?

Enrollment in the CDCP started on March 11th, 2024, through SLD (Sun Life Direct). Dentists can sign up for SLD in order to complete the enrollment process online.

Contact the Sun Life call centre at 1-888-888-8110 to obtain an Access ID and temporary password.

If you do not wish to have a SLD account, you can manually enroll by completing and submitting a form.

Please note if you do not wish to formally sign up, you will be able to direct bill Sun Life for services provided on a claim-by-claim basis as of July 8, 2024. > Learn more

As a dentist, when can I start submitting claims?

As of May 1, 2024, eligible seniors are able to start using the program and dentists are able to submit claims through Sun Life.

Please note that the CDCP coverage start date varies. An individual’s coverage date is based on when their application was received and when they were enrolled in the CDCP. See application schedule above.

It’s important for oral health providers to validate their patient’s effective coverage date before confirming an appointment.

Where can I find the CDCP benefit grids? Which services are included in the CDCP? How much of the payment for services will be covered by the CDCP? If I sign up as a provider, are existing patients not enrolled in the CDCP still able to receive treatment? What happens if a patient is covered under another dental program?

Is there a patient intake process prior to providing care to a patient covered under the CDCP?

The CDCP wishes to avoid any confusion about who is eligible for services in order to
avoid placing any undue financial hardship on patients you are seeing. You need to make reasonable efforts to validate an identity of a person eligible for CDCP services through your existing patient intake process, prior to providing care.

You need to inform patients which of your recommended services will and will not be covered by the CDCP before they agree to receive care.

You can also ask the patient if they are covered under any other dental program (e.g., Ontario Disability Support Program, Healthy Smiles).

Please read this document for more information.

Are there any limitations on emergency examinations?

There are no limitations on emergency examinations under the CDCP, and almost all services that could be done on an emergency basis do not need preauthorization.

After November 2024 when preauthorization comes into effect, in rare cases where a service that would normally need preauthorization is needed on an emergency basis, providers can submit any needed minimal documentation after the fact.