Second application period for Canada Dental Benefit opens Saturday

The second application period for the federal government’s dental benefit program starts Saturday, so parents or guardians of eligible children can get up to $650 per child for dental services for the next year.

The amount of the “Canada Dental Benefit” available per child under the age of 12 depends on their annual family income, from $260 if the family’s adjusted net income is between $80,000 and $89,999, to $390 if it’s between $70,000 and $79,999, to $650 if it’s under $70,000.

As of July 1, parents can apply for the benefit through their Canada Revenue Agency online account, if they meet the following criteria:

• their child is under the age of 12 as of July 1, 2023;
• their adjusted family net income is less than $90,000;
• they do not have access to private dental insurance; and
• their dental care expenses are not fully covered by another dental program provided by any level of government.

Health Canada is advising that parents applying for the benefit should also have on hand the contact information for their child’s dental care professional, as well as the contact information of their employer, and the date (or expected date) of their child’s dental appointment.

Last November, the NDP-backed Liberal affordability bill bringing in both the dental-care benefit and a rental boost for lower-income Canadians — known as Bill C-31 — became law. The first application period for the dental benefit started on Dec. 1, 2022.

Last fall, the federal financial agency briefed reporters on how the system will work for Canadians looking to apply for these benefits, billing the system as "streamlined and user-friendly."

• How to apply for the dental benefit 

According to Health Canada, more than 315,000 children accessed the benefit during the first eligibility period, from October 2022 to June 2023.

But The Canadian Press reported in April that hundreds of thousands of Canadians may have missed out at the time because the program had “atrocious” uptake.

Rolling out a dental-care plan was a key component of the Liberal-NDP confidence-and-supply agreement penned nearly a year and a half ago, while the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois voted against it.

"Through the Canada Dental Benefit, we are helping children get access to dental care at an early age,” wrote Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos in a statement Thursday. “By doing so, we are supporting healthier oral health and preventing pain and infections, potential problems with eating, speaking, playing, or learning, as well as other future health problems."

The Liberals have promised to expand the program this year to under-18-year-olds, seniors, and people living with a disability, and by 2025 to all Canadian families with incomes of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for anyone earning less than $70,000 annually.

With files from CTVNews.ca Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello