Dear Editor,
Contrary to what many may have been led to believe, including yours truly, the much-vaunted Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) does not provide free basic dental care for all of us. If you were hoping to visit your dentist without a charge, as you do your doctor, forget it.
After checking it out, and visiting a dentist recently, I believe the facts are as follows:
Once you are eligible, you apply for the CDCP card. Currently, those 65 and older, those under 18 and anyone with a valid federal disability tax credit certificate are eligible. Not all dentists are yet enrolled. Many were hesitant to do so, initially. If your dentist was not enrolled in the plan at the beginning, check to see whether they now are.
Coverage is based on net family income. Check your last year’s tax return. Families with a net income of less than net $70,000 are eligible for full coverage, in other words, at 100 per cent. Those between 70K and 80K net income are covered for 60 per cent. Those between 80K and 90K at 40 per cent. If your income is greater than that, you’re out of luck.
The insurer, Sun Life, however, has set limits for each procedure that it covers. Dentists are perfectly free to charge more than these limits, and probably will. Ours did. So really, you are covered for a percentage of what the insurer allows, for each procedure. It might be a good idea to get an estimate from your dentist in advance of your visit.
When you come to pay for your visit, you will likely be presented with a bill. As we were. Hopefully, it will be less than you would have paid in the past. For low income families, it should now make regular visits affordable. That is a good thing. But if you were expecting something more, well, that just isn’t happening.
William Smith, Bristol
