The concerns businesses may ‘shift the burden’ of dental benefits: NSDA

Dr. Claire Karst, president of the Nova Scotia Dental Association, discusses the importance of fluoride.

More Canadians are going to have access to dental care.

The federal government announced the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is expanding to include more age groups. The program was initially launched for seniors in Dec. 2023 and has been expanded in phases to cover children and people with disabilities.

The announcement was made by the Liberals a day before an election is expected to be called.

The Nova Scotia Dental Association (NSDA) hopes access to care remains top of mind.

“Our voice of dentistry would be to advise all political parties to maintain oral health as a priority. That has been our starting point when it comes to the federal dental care plan, and we have always advocated for access to care for Canadians,” said NSDA President Dr. Claire Karst in an interview with CTV’s Todd Battis.

Karst said there are some concerns about how the CDCP will integrate with existing dental insurance plans.

“One of our bigger concerns for dentistry as we are advocating for a sustainable, long-term dental plan for Canadians is the de-insurance risk, and what I mean by that is we are looking for commitment from the federal government to make sure that they have some plan in place to protect the employer-employee third-party dental plans,” she said.

“We have a commitment of $13 billion in federal money towards this plan over a five-year period. So, if we’re looking at employers now considering perhaps shifting the burden of dental benefits from their business to the new federal plan, that will deplete the funds that are available for the plan,” said Karst.

The CDCP was designed to help Canadians who do not have access to dental insurance and who have a net household income of less than $90,000.

“Businesses that have employees that fall within that, this is the thinking, and even just a modest increase in the number of Canadians that would be eligible to the plan, say a 10 per cent increase, you’re looking at about $385 million just in 2025 alone.”

Prior to Saturday’s expansion, the Liberals said 3.4 million Canadians were approved to be part of the plan, with 1.7 million receiving care so far.

Another 4.5 million uninsured Canadians are expected to join the program. Applications will open by age group in the coming months:

• May 1: 55 to 64 years old
• May 15: 18 to 34 years old
• May 29: 35 to 54 years old

While the NSDA is pleased more Canadians will have access to dental coverage, there is another issue: staffing.

“That is a big concern for Nova Scotia and all provinces across Canada. We have a critical workforce shortage in dental hygiene and dental assisting,” said Karst.

“If we think about Nova Scotia, and when and if the program opens fully, we are estimating a shortage of probably 96 new dental assistants will be needed in order to just meet that need and 46 new dental hygienists just in this province alone to meet that need once that program opens up.”

Beginning this month, current CDCP members must renew their coverage once they have filed their 2024 tax return. Renewal applications need to be received by June 1, 2025.

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