This week in Ottawa, the federal health minister touted the success of the federal government’s Dental Care Plan.
Mark Holland says the response has been overwhelming, exceeding anything he could have hoped for in the first three months, with millions of Canadians approved for coverage and more than 75 percent of dental care providers taking part.
"This is news that I think blows the front door off the barn," said Holland.
Holland was offering, what he says is some good news to Canadians and a welcome relief to the criticisms over the past year of the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. And it’s over the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
"Today I’m here to say that nearly 450,000 Canadians have received care. And there’s 2.3 million Canadians who have signed up," said Holland.
He says it’s not just those who have received the care but there’s been an explosion in the number of dental care providers taking part.
"More than 6500 new providers have participated in the program, using claim by claim," said Holland. "That takes us to 19,000 providers across the country who are providing services to Canadians where they need it across the country. That represents 75 percent of oral health professionals."
Holland says it’s more than he could have hoped for.
"75 percent is huge. Think about it. Just a month ago before we launched the alternative pathway, we were at 50 percent of providers. So, in a period of three months to be at 75 percent is incredibly important,” said Holland.
In its phased rollout of the dental care plan, coverage for seniors began in May and was expanded to children under 18 and disabled Canadians in June.
"We want to live in a country where seniors are able to get the care that they need," said Holland. "And the denturists were talking to me about the clients they were seeing who had 30 and 40-year-old dentures. One lady [went] 42 years without a pair of dentures in her mouth. What she was left with was plastic plates. The senior who was forced to use these plastic plates to chew their food with no teeth in their mouth, it just profoundly strikes me that this is not the country we want to live in."
The Canadian Dental Assistants Association is on board with the dental plan and its president Kelly Mansfield says already the plan is making a difference. It's believed that it can even reduce some of the burdens on the general healthcare system.
"The feedback we are hearing from our CDAA members regarding the administration and clinical implementation of the CDCP has been both positive and rewarding," said Mansfield. "Several members have shared personal stories of how the CDCP has enriched their well-being and happiness. For example, one member’s grandparents who hadn’t visited a dentist for over 20 years despite struggling with ill-fitting dentures, that impacted their ability to eat, recently received a new set of dentures through the CDCP participating provider, This care has significantly improved their daily life."
The program is not a formal insurance plan. But it covers a range of services such as cleanings, Xrays, cavity fillings, dentures, and root canals. To qualify, you have to be a Canadian resident, have no access to dental insurance, have a net family income of less than $90,000 a year, and have filed your previous year’s tax return.
The cost of all dental work is not free. Patients will have to pay out of pocket for some services that aren’t fully covered. The opposition Conservative Party has taken a wait-and-see approach, and would not say if it would scrap the plan if elected.