More than 70 per cent of dentists are now accepting patients through Canada's new public dental insurance program — a significant increase over the 50 per cent participation rate reported a month ago. The federal government attributes the higher uptake to changes it introduced on July 8 that allow dental clinics to submit claims without officially registering as providers of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). The changes permit dentists, denturists and independent hygienists to perform work on patients covered by the CDCP and to be reimbursed by Ottawa on a case-by-case basis.
Health Minister Mark Holland said 6,000 oral health-care providers have chosen to take part in the CDCP since Ottawa changed the rules. "We've been absolutely blown away by the participation," Holland told CBC News on Tuesday. WATCH: Health minister defends communications on dental plan Health minister defends communication on dental plan 30 days ago Duration 2:21 A report by the Canadian Dental Association is calling on the federal government to clear up misconceptions about the federal dental care plan.
Health Minister Mark Holland says dental offices that opted into the program aren't experiencing these concerns and encouraged those that haven’t signed on to join the program. As of today, 16,612 dentists, 1,746 denturists and 857 dental hygienists are taking part in the program. That's more than 19,000 oral health-care providers out of what Health Canada estimates is a potential pool of 25,170.