The Canadian Parliament recently passed the Canada Dental Benefit into law, a program that will initially provide dental care to to 500,000 children under 12 before expanding in 2023 to include those under 18 before the inclusion of all eligible Canadians by 2025.
The aim is to ensure all Canadians have equitable access to comprehensive dental care with the Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos noting that "With this benefit, children will be able to access the basic dental care they need, while we develop a long-term Canada-wide dental care program."
To qualify for the full benefit of $650* per child per year over two years, a family must earn less than $70,000 a year while those earning between $70,000 and $79,999 will be eligible for $390 per child per year over two years, with the figure sliding down to $260 per child per year over two years for families earning $80,000 and $89,999 annually.
Appearing to operate along similar lines to Australia's Child Dental Benefits Schedule, a program championed by the ADA, which delivers government-funded dental care to eligible children up to the age of 17, the Canada Dental Benefit will require families to register with it to receive the support.
The first year of the program commenced 1 October 2022 and will run through to 30 June 2023.
For the full story, go to "Federal dental benefit officially becomes law"
* All figures are in Canadian dollars
