Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) offers dental coverage to over 9 million Canadians without dental coverage
This summer, the federal government unveiled the CDCP. This program will make diagnostic, preventative, basic and major dental procedures more accessible to roughly 9 million Canadians who do not have dental coverage, presenting an incredible opportunity for dental professionals across Canada.
What is the Canadian Dental Care Plan?
The CDCP is a federal program available to Canadians over the age of 65, adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate and children under the age of 18. In 2025, the group of eligible Canadians will be expanded even further.
Under this program, a portion of the following oral health procedures will be covered by the plan:
Diagnostic and Preventative Services
- Dental exams, including complete, routine, specific and emergency exams
- x-rays
- Cleaning (scaling)
- Fluoride applications
- Sealants
Basic Services
- Restorative services
- Permanent fillings
- Temporary fillings
- Pain control for diseased teeth
- Other treatments for cavities
Endodontic Services
- Root canal treatments
- Pulpectomies (first step of a root canal treatment)
- Procedures to reduce infection and relieve pain
- Re-treatment of previously completed root canal treatment (requires preauthorization)
Periodontal services
- Cleaning under the gum line
- Treating abscesses
- Bonding for mobile teeth (requires preauthorization)
- Post-surgical evaluations (requires preauthorization)
- Non-surgical gum disease management
Major services
- Restorative services
- Posts and post removal repairs to crowns and re-bonding of crowns and posts
- Crowns (requires preauthorization)
- Cores (to support crowns) (requires preauthorization)
- Posts for crown (requires preauthorization)
- Removable prosthodontic services
Oral surgery
- Removal of teeth and roots
- Surgical removal of tumours and cysts
- Surgical incisions, including draining
- Treatments for broken jaw bones
Anesthesia or sedation services
- Minimal sedation (conscious)
- Moderate sedation (requires preauthorization)
- Deep sedation (requires preauthorization)
- General anesthesia (requires preauthorization)
Orthodontic services
- Coverage details will be released in 2025. SunLife is the plan administrator for this program. As of July 8, 2024 dental professionals can participate by signing up directly with SunLife, or through direct billing on a case-by-case basis.
An unprecedented opportunity for dental practitioners in Canada
The CDCP is one of the largest social programs in Canadian history, and provides dentists with the unprecedented potential to reach a grossly underserved subset of the population. Over 9 million Canadians across the country do not have dental coverage and stand to benefit from the program. As of August 4th, more than 2.3 million Canadians have been approved to receive coverage. However, dental practitioners have been signing up at a much slower pace.
How Ad Ops House can help you reach these new potential clients
Digital advertising is one of the most efficient forms of advertising because it enables you to target specific subsets of the population while tracking the results. By leveraging demographic targeting, each dollar spent on marketing is deployed more efficiently because it will be used to place ads in front of users who are most likely to be interested in the services you provide.
For example, Industry research has shown that certain demographics, such as senior citizens over the age of 65 have been the fastest growing demographic for dental care since the 1980s. However, they are also the least likely to receive dental care due to a lack of insurance coverage and the costs associated with these procedures. Research also shows that certain provinces may have a higher potential for growth in demand as a result of CDCP because of lower rates of dental services delivered before the introduction of the federal program.
Digital Marketing Agency
Contact Ad Ops House today to create a tailored marketing strategy to target the demographic that makes the most sense for your dental practice. Our digital marketing specialists will prepare a customized campaign to reach this underserved market and will stretch your marketing dollars to ensure your ads are effective and placed in the most appropriate digital channels.