Seventy-five percent of dentists and dental specialists are now participating in Canada’s new federal dental-care program, Health Minister Mark Holland says.
A total of 16,612 dentists and dental specialists, 1,746 denturists, and 857 dental hygienists have joined the Liberal government’s Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), representing roughly three-quarters of all dentists and dental specialists in Canada, Holland said during an Aug. 7 press conference.Holland said the “explosion” in the number of dental care providers participating “exceeds anything I could have hoped for in the first three months” of the program’s operation.
“We’re not stopping until we get to 100 percent,” he added.
While 2.3 million Canadians have been approved to receive coverage under the program, there are an additional nine million Canadians who do not currently have access to dental insurance, he said.
“We have 9 million Canadians to get to. We have 25 percent more oral health professionals to get to,” Holland said. “But today is an important day in our progress to make oral health a permanent part of Canada’s health-care system.”
All other eligible Canadians are scheduled to be given access to the program in 2025.
Holland acknowledged that some Canadians who have signed up for the program have found it was “not always free,” and said there are some instances where the fee guide provided by the government and those the professionals charge is different.
“That difference exists, it’s called equal billing, and it’s important that people understand that,” he said.
Conservatives Criticize Plan
The Conservatives described the government dental plan in an emailed Aug. 7 press release as being “riddled with chaos, backlogs, red tape, and higher costs.”The party also said that the President of the Canadian Dental Association had declined to sign up to provide the CDCP in his own clinic, as he said it initially “looked really promising,” but the signup process became “complicated and onerous.”
Holland said there were some in the Conservative Party who were “desperate for [the program] to not work” and are trying to “set fire to things that are working because they’re afraid that politically, it’s going to be bad news for them.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also criticized Ottawa’s dental care program, saying interferes with the province’s jurisdiction. She has said Alberta intends to opt out of the plan by 2026.