Key takeaways
- We accept CDCP and we bill it directly. You do not pay upfront and claim it back.
- The plan is open to eligible members of all ages. The four eligibility requirements are listed below.
- Covered is not the same as free. Your cost depends on income, the CDCP fee, and whether each service is covered. Co-payments, provider-fee differences, and uncovered services may still be payable.
- The plan pays at its own fee, not ours. Where the two differ, the difference is yours, and we tell you the number before treatment.
- Some treatment needs approval first. Crowns, partial dentures and anything past a frequency limit.
- Orthodontics is not available under CDCP. Not at this practice, not anywhere, not yet.
Do we accept CDCP at Dentistry on Britannia?
Yes.
That is the whole answer, and it is the question most people arrive with. You do not need a referral, you do not need to be an existing patient, and you do not need to call ahead to check.
Bring your Sun Life member card and your card number. We submit to the plan for you.
Call (905) 821-8632 or book online.
What the Canadian Dental Care Plan is
The CDCP is a federal dental plan for Canadian residents who have no access to private dental insurance. It is funded by Health Canada and administered by Sun Life, which is who processes the claim we send.
It is not free dental care for everyone. It is coverage for eligible people, at fees the plan sets, for services the plan lists.
It rolled out in stages and those stages are finished. Seniors first, then children and people with a disability tax credit certificate, then everyone else. Anyone who meets the requirements can apply now, at any age.
The official source is the Canadian Dental Care Plan page on canada.ca. It is more current than anything a dental practice can tell you second-hand, so check it there and use this page for what happens at our end.
Who qualifies for CDCP
Four requirements. You have to meet all four.
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| No access to private dental insurance | Through your work or pension, a family member's work or pension, or a professional or student organisation |
| You filed your tax return in Canada | For the previous year, and so did your spouse or common-law partner |
| Adjusted family net income under $90,000 | Family income, not personal income |
| Canadian resident for tax purposes | And so is your spouse or common-law partner |
Source: Do you qualify, canada.ca.
Age is not a requirement any more. The plan is open to all ages.
What "no access to private insurance" actually means
This is the requirement people get wrong, and the wording is stricter than it sounds.
You count as having access even if:
- You have never used it
- You chose not to enrol in it
- You have to pay a premium for it
- It does not cover the full cost of your dental care
Any of those still counts as access, and access makes you ineligible.
There is one exception. If you opted out of dental coverage through a pension plan after 11 December 2023, that does not count against you.
Where to check. Box 45 on your T4 if you work. Box 015 on your T4A if you receive a pension.
We cannot tell you whether you qualify. That is decided by Service Canada, not by a dental office, and we would be guessing. Apply through canada.ca and Sun Life will send you a member card if you are accepted.
What CDCP covers
The plan groups services into categories. These are the ones that matter in a general practice like ours.
| Category | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic and preventive | Examinations, x-rays, cleaning and scaling, fluoride, sealants |
| Restorative | Permanent and temporary fillings, pain control for a diseased tooth |
| Endodontic | Root canal treatment, pulpectomy, retreatment of a previous root canal |
| Periodontal | Cleaning under the gumline, treating abscesses, non-surgical gum disease management |
| Oral surgery | Extractions, and the surgical side of general dentistry |
| Crowns and prosthodontics | Crowns, cores and posts, complete dentures, partial dentures, repairs, relines and rebases |
| Sedation | Nitrous oxide and oral sedation. Deeper sedation needs approval first |
Full detail is in the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide, linked from what services are covered.
What CDCP does not cover
Orthodontics. Orthodontic services are not available under the plan. Braces and aligners are not covered, at this practice or any other. Learn more about orthodontic treatment.
Cosmetic treatment. Whitening, veneers and bonding done to change appearance are not covered. Learn more about cosmetic dentistry.
Dental implants. Implants and implant-related procedures are excluded, and so are fixed bridges. Dentures are the covered route to replacing a missing tooth. Learn more about dental implants.
Anything past a frequency limit, unless the plan approves it in advance.
How much you actually pay
This is the part worth reading twice.
Your co-payment depends on your adjusted family net income:
| Adjusted family net income | The plan pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Under $70,000 | 100% | 0% of the CDCP fee; additional charges may still apply |
| $70,000 to $79,999 | 60% | 40% |
| $80,000 to $89,999 | 40% | 60% |
Source: How much will be covered, canada.ca.
Those percentages are of the CDCP fee, not of our fee.
The part that surprises people
The plan pays at fees it sets, and those fees are not always what a practice charges. Where our fee is higher, the difference is yours to pay, on top of any co-payment.
That is the government's own wording, not ours: the CDCP fees may not be the same as what providers charge, and you may have to pay in addition to the co-payment.
Coverage does not guarantee a zero balance. Even with a 0% co-payment, a provider-fee difference or an uncovered service can still leave an amount for you to pay.
Which is why you get a written estimate before treatment starts. It shows what the plan is expected to pay and what is left for you, in dollars, before you agree to anything. If the plan comes back with a different answer than expected, we tell you before we carry on.
Ask us at the front desk. Nobody here minds the question and it is the right one to ask.
Preauthorization, and what it is for
Some treatment has to be approved by the plan before it happens.
The common ones: crowns, cores and posts, partial dentures, immediate and overdentures, bonding for loose teeth, retreatment of a root canal, post-surgical evaluations, and anything past a frequency limit.
How it works. We send the proposal to the plan. The plan looks at your oral health history and your medical conditions and decides. That decision has to come back before treatment.
Not every request is approved. If yours is refused you can still go ahead and pay for it yourself, and we will tell you what that costs before you decide.
It takes time. Build it into your plan. Treatment does not happen on the day you are assessed.
What to bring to your CDCP appointment
- Your Sun Life member card, or your client and member numbers if the card has not arrived
- A piece of photo identification
- A list of your medications, including anything over the counter
- Any x-rays taken somewhere else, if you have them
- Your private plan details, if you also hold one
If your card has not come yet, call us anyway. Your client and member numbers are enough to submit with in most cases.
How CDCP billing works here
We bill Sun Life directly. You do not pay the full fee and wait to be reimbursed.
You pay your share, if you have one, on the day. That is the co-payment plus any difference between the plan's fee and ours, and both are on the estimate you were given.
The claim goes in from our end. You do not fill in a form.
If something is refused, you hear it from us. We tell you why and what the options are, including doing nothing for now if that is reasonable.
CDCP for children
The plan covers children under the same rules, and the family income test is what decides it.
A child's first visit is about getting them comfortable, not about treatment. Examinations, cleanings, fluoride and sealants are all in the covered list. Learn more about children's dentistry.
Orthodontics is still not covered, which is the question parents ask most.
CDCP in an emergency
Call us first. The plan does not change how quickly we see you.
Covered emergency treatment includes pain control for a diseased tooth, treating an abscess, and extractions.
Red flags go to a hospital or to 911, whatever your coverage. Difficulty breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading towards the eye or neck, or a fever with facial swelling. Learn more about emergency dental care in Mississauga.
If you are not eligible
Plenty of people reading this will not qualify, and the private insurance rule is why.
We bill most private plans directly too. Bring your details and the office will confirm what your plan covers before treatment.
You still get a written estimate, and we stage treatment over time so the urgent work happens first.
Say if cost is the constraint. It changes the conversation and it changes the order we do things in.
Dentistry on Britannia is a general dental practice. Our dentists are general dentists, not specialists in any RCDSO-recognised specialty.