Eligible seniors getting invite letters as part of the rollout for national dental care plan

The federal government is continuing to roll out its national dental care plan for uninsured Canadians.

Since December, eligible seniors have been getting invitation letters. The program officially starts in May for those aged 65 and older, so the push is on the get seniors enrolled.

Solange Pitre, 97, gets her teeth cleaned and checked every six months through a mobile dental service. The hygienist comes to her room at a retirement home in downtown Sudbury.

The next visit will be covered by the Canadian dental plan.

“Well, it is very good that this plan has been … set up or whatever. I’m sure a lot of people here will be very happy about it,” Pitre said.

Pitre is one of more than 800,000 seniors already approved for the national plan. It’s meant to help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care.

Dental hygienist Paula O’Connor, who owns Healthy Smiles at Home, said some of her senior clients have received letters but are not sure what to do.

The federal government has started to roll out the national dental care plan sending invite letters to eligible seniors. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News)

“They’ll get a letter and not really know that this program even exists,” O’Connor said.

“It’s to make sure there’s some awareness that this is happening and that people take advantage of it. If they do get their letter, make that phone call. You need a social insurance number and the code on that letter. It’s pretty simple.”

With her mobile services, O’Connor sees about 15 to 20 patients a week, but expects that to increase once the national plan begins in May.

“It’ll give that opportunity for those who couldn’t afford to pay for it out of pocket to now take advantage of having the funding,” O’Connor said.

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The federal government has committed more than $13 billion over five years for the plan. Services to be covered include teeth cleaning, diagnostics and preventative dental procedures.

Canadians with a valid disability tax credit certificate, as well as children under the age of 18, can start applying in June. All remaining eligible Canadians can apply in 2025.

Criteria to qualify include being a Canadian resident with no access to dental insurance, have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000 and have filed tax returns for the previous year.