In this week’s Everything King, Wendy uses her new Canadian Dental Care Plan card and saves big following pair of appointments
I’ve been champing at the bit to share this information.
By now, you’ve likely heard about the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). It was put into effect to help make the cost of dental care more affordable for Canadians who qualify.
At first, it was available only to people over 65 years of age, but as of May 2025 it has been opened up for all ages and 3.4 million people have been approved.
I remember being skeptical of it. I figured my dentist would never buy into it, nor would I qualify.
Wrong on both counts.
My understanding is that you just need to have filed your taxes for the current year — so they can check your income level, which has to be below $90,000 — and also you can’t be covered by any other insurance. In other words, they don’t want you double dipping.
The application can be done easily and quickly online and then you just wait for approval.
I used my CDCP card for the first time recently. To be truthful, I was doubtful it would make a huge difference to my cost.
Again, I was wrong.
I needed multiple fillings over two appointments, so there were X-rays, a check-up and then two sessions of about three hours in total.
There was so much hardware in my mouth, I felt like an aisle of Home Hardware. If I had to back up, I would have beeped.
The whole time I’m thinking, this is going to break the bank. I had not found out what or how much was covered, because it had to be done no matter what.
A wiser patient would have asked for a pre-determination.
I approached the cashier with trepidation and a silent prayer that my charge card would work.
Appointment one was to cost $800. With CDCP card, I paid about $120. I think I squealed out loud.
Appointment two was a bit more intense and took longer. I kept thinking, they won’t cover this one. It was literally in the same week. I was charged $207.
Curious and nosy, I said, “Do you know how much it would have been?”
The answer came back, “One thousand, 110 dollars.”
I was swollen and frozen, but managed to mumble, “Are you mudding meesh?” which translated into “Are you kidding me?”
I couldn’t really smile at the time, but I was beaming inwardly.
I’m telling you this because it would be great if more people could save some cash, too.
Now, it’s true not all procedures are covered fully or even partially. They allow only so many cleanings, etc., per year.
But, if it saves a few hundred dollars a year, it is totally worth it.
Also, I just found out you do have to re-apply every year and be qualified annually.
When you think about it, dental health should have been covered by insurance just as overall health is. It’s all connected.
Maneesh Jain, president of the Ontario Dental Association, says “dental care is incredibly important to one’s oral health and overall health. Poor oral health is linked to many diseases and chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, dementia and diabetes.”
Dentists are equally as important as doctors.
CBC Radio reports as of last summer that 70 per cent of dentists have signed on and are applauding the program.
Some say it was rolled out too quickly with not enough information for them or patients. Some worry they will lose money and drown in paperwork.
Like anything new, there will be kinks to work out.
Obviously, the above was just my experience and may not represent other situations, but it may encourage others to apply and see if it helps.
For now, I’m all smiles.
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