Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP): Who Qualifies and How It Works

The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is the federal government’s plan to make dental care more affordable for eligible residents of Canada. To qualify you need all 4 of these: no access to private dental insurance, a tax return filed in Canada, adjusted family net income under $90,000, and residence in Canada for tax purposes. You apply through Service Canada, online or by phone, and it costs nothing to apply.

On this page: Who qualifies · Income limit · Dental insurance · Children and seniors · Why you’re not eligible · Applying · What you pay

What is the Canadian Dental Care Plan?

The CDCP pays part of the cost of a wide range of oral health services, from exams to dentures, when an oral health provider recommends them. It doesn’t send money to members: the provider is the one reimbursed, at the plan’s own fees, which can differ from what the office charges. Coverage runs over a benefit period from July 1 to June 30.

If a provincial, territorial or federal social program already pays for some of your dental care, you may still qualify, and the two plans can coordinate so nothing is paid twice.

Who qualifies for CDCP?

You have to meet all 4 requirements:

• You have no access to private dental insurance or coverage, including a health spending account that covers dental costs.
• You, and your spouse or common-law partner if you have one, filed a tax return in Canada for the previous year.
• Your adjusted family net income is less than $90,000.
• You (and any spouse or partner) are a Canadian resident for tax purposes.

If you have a spouse or common-law partner, the tax-return and residency requirements apply to them as well. The insurance requirement isn’t a one-time check: you confirm every year that you have no access to private dental coverage. The next two sections explain the income limit and access to dental insurance.

What is the income limit, and how is adjusted family net income worked out?

Your adjusted family net income has to be below $90,000. It is worked out from your tax return and, if you have one, your spouse’s or partner’s:

1. Start with family net income, line 23600.
2. Take off any Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and RDSP income received, lines 11700 and 12500.
3. Add back any UCCB and RDSP amounts repaid, lines 21300 and 23200.

That is why both of you have to file: the plan uses the returns to assess your family income for the previous year. Filing for benefits in general is covered under filing to get benefits. Your income also sets your co-payment, the share of the plan’s fee you pay (what you pay).

What counts as having access to dental insurance?

You can’t qualify if you have access to private dental insurance or coverage, and a health spending account that pays dental costs counts. That access can come from:

• your own work or pension plan, or a family member’s
• a professional or student organization
• coverage you or a family member bought for dental costs, including top-up or supplementary coverage

“Access” means you were offered a plan, a fund or another form of coverage through work or a pension. The government’s examples include free dental care because you or a family member works in a dental office, and a payment toward buying private dental coverage. If your spouse or dependants have access through your plan, they are shut out too, because your access covers them.

Access counts even if you have never used the coverage, didn’t enrol, would have to pay a premium, or it doesn’t pay the full cost. There is one exception: a retiree who opted out of pension-plan dental coverage before December 11, 2023 and can’t opt back in may still qualify. Opting out after that date doesn’t count, whether or not you could opt back in.

How do you check your tax slip?

Employers and pension plan administrators have to report on your slips whether they offer you dental coverage, as a code in these boxes:

Check your spouse’s or partner’s slips too, since you or your dependants may have access through their plan. If you think a code is wrong, ask the employer or pension administrator to confirm or correct it before you apply or renew.

Private dental insurance itself is compared in our dental insurance guide.

Can children, seniors and spouses get CDCP?

Children. A child goes on a parent’s application as a dependant, with a Social Insurance Number if the child has one. The family’s access to insurance decides it: if a child has access through a parent’s plan, the child isn’t eligible. The apply page has the steps.

Seniors and retirees. Dental coverage offered through a pension plan counts as access, and a pension plan reports it in box 015 of the T4A. The retiree exception above is the one way around it.

Spouses and partners. A spouse or common-law partner who wants coverage sends their own application. Their details in your application only confirm your marital status, so your family income can be worked out, and check that you can’t get coverage through them.

Why am I not eligible for CDCP?

The plan works on your word: when you apply or renew, you attest that you and your dependants have no access to private dental coverage. It can then check that against your and your partner’s T4 and T4A slips, even after you’re enrolled. Each requirement can lead to a refusal or removal:

• a T4 or T4A slip, yours or your partner’s, shows coverage was offered, you’re asked for proof that you no longer have access, and the proof isn’t sent
• access to dental coverage through a spouse’s or parent’s plan
• a return not filed, yours or your partner’s
• adjusted family net income at or over the limit
• not being a resident of Canada for tax purposes

If you’re selected for a review, a letter comes by mail asking for documents from the work or pension plan showing there is no access. The key document is a review form, filled in and signed by whichever work or pension plan reported your access. The documents are due 45 days from the date of the letter. If they don’t arrive in time, you are found ineligible and coverage ends. If you do have access, you contact Service Canada to be taken off the plan.

If you’re found ineligible, you may have to repay the government for care the plan paid for while you weren’t eligible. You can’t apply again until you’ve sent the review documents, repaid the full amount owed and meet all the requirements. The details are on the government’s member eligibility review page.

How do you apply and renew?

You apply online through My Service Canada Account, or by phone with Service Canada; the apply page walks through it. Members renew the Canadian Dental Care Plan every year, during a renewal period, to confirm they still meet all 4 eligibility requirements; missing the period means a new application and a gap in coverage. See renewing your coverage.

What does CDCP cover and what do you pay?

The plan covers services from exams and cleanings to dentures; some need approval first, and orthodontic services aren’t available for now. With adjusted family net income under $70,000, it covers 100% of eligible costs at its own fees. Between $70,000 and $89,999, it covers less, and you pay a co-payment: a share of its fee. A provider can also charge more than the plan’s fee. The coverage page has the bands, and what’s covered lists the services.

Is the Canada Dental Benefit the same plan?

No. The interim Canada Dental Benefit was a separate Canada Revenue Agency program, now closed, for parents paying for dental care for a child under 12 without private dental insurance. It paid $260, $390 or $650 per payment, tax-free, depending on adjusted family net income, with up to 2 payments per child, for care between October 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024. For other past programs, see the ended benefits page.

Where to go next

• How to apply for and renew the CDCP
• What the CDCP covers and what you pay
• What dental work costs in Canada
• Benefits and your tax return
• Government benefits in Canada