The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) helps families earning under $90,000 a year pay for dental care — and if your income is under $70,000, eligible services can cost you nothing out of pocket. Here's how the plan works in 2026, who qualifies, and how to apply. If you'd rather talk it through with a person, call us at 403-266-3100 — we help patients with CDCP questions every week.
What the CDCP is
The CDCP is a federal program, administered through Sun Life, that pays for a wide range of everyday dental care for Canadians who don't have private dental insurance. It started with seniors and children and has been open to all eligible age groups since mid-2025. It isn't a discount card — it's real coverage that participating dentists bill directly, the same way they would bill an insurance company.
Who qualifies in 2026
You need all four of these:
- No access to private dental insurance — through work, a spouse's plan, or a private policy. (Having provincial or other government coverage doesn't disqualify you.)
- Adjusted family net income under $90,000 — based on your most recent tax return.
- You filed last year's taxes — you and your spouse or partner both, since the plan uses those numbers.
- You're a Canadian resident for tax purposes.
What you'll pay: the three income tiers
Your share depends on your adjusted family net income:
- Under $70,000 — no co-payment. The plan pays the full CDCP fee for eligible services.
- $70,000 to $79,999 — you pay 40% of the CDCP fee.
- $80,000 to $89,999 — you pay 60% of the CDCP fee.
One honest note: the CDCP pays set fees that can be a little lower than standard Alberta rates, and not every treatment is covered. Before any work starts, we'll tell you exactly what the plan covers and what, if anything, you'd owe. No surprises — that's also why we offer free consults before treatments.
What's covered
The plan covers most of the care a family actually uses:
- Exams and cleanings
- X-rays
- Fillings
- Root canals
- Complete and partial dentures
- Extractions, including some oral surgery
Some services — like crowns or certain denture work — need pre-authorization from Sun Life before they're approved. We handle that paperwork for our patients. Purely cosmetic treatments, like whitening and veneers, aren't covered.
Important: the CDCP pays your dentist, not you. If you pay out of pocket at a clinic that doesn't bill Sun Life directly, the plan won't reimburse you afterward. Always confirm your dentist participates before treatment. Aviation Dental bills Sun Life directly — you only ever pay your co-payment share, if you have one.
How to apply
- File your taxes for the most recent year, if you haven't. The application can't be assessed without your Notice of Assessment.
- Apply online through your My Service Canada Account or at canada.ca/dental. Applying for children is done through the parent's application.
- Or apply by phone at 1-833-537-4342 (TTY 1-833-677-6262) if you'd rather not do it online.
- Wait for your Sun Life welcome package. It confirms your coverage start date and your co-payment tier. Coverage usually begins within a couple of months of approval.
- Book your first visit — bring your member card or welcome letter, and we'll take it from there.
Not sure whether you qualify, or stuck partway through the application? Bring your questions in. We've helped many NE Calgary patients get set up, and our CDCP coverage guide on the homepage covers the basics in both English and Spanish.
Why applications get delayed — and how to avoid it
Most CDCP applications go through without trouble. When they don't, it's usually one of these:
- Taxes not filed. The single most common holdup. Both you and your spouse or partner need last year's return assessed before applying.
- You have access to workplace insurance. This one surprises people. What matters is whether a plan was available to you — not whether you signed up. Turning it down, not using it, or paying a premium for it all still count as having access. There's a narrow exception for retirees who opted out of a pension dental plan before December 11, 2023 and can't opt back in.
Quick way to check: look at box 45 on your T4 (or box 015 on a T4A). Code 1 means no access. Codes 2 through 5 mean you have access, and you're not eligible. - Booking before coverage starts. Your welcome letter shows a coverage start date. Treatment done before that date isn't covered, so check the date — or call us and we'll check with you — before booking anything beyond a consult.
It's worth getting that last one right. The application asks you to attest that you have no access to dental insurance, and if it later turns out you did, you're removed from the plan and asked to repay what it covered. If you're unsure, check box 45 before you apply.
On the other side of it: if your income or insurance situation changed this year — a layoff, retirement, losing a spouse's plan — you may have become eligible even if you weren't before. It costs nothing to apply and nothing to ask.
Already covered? Don't sit on it
Coverage is reassessed every year, and unused coverage doesn't roll over. If you were approved months ago and haven't booked yet, a checkup and cleaning is the right place to start — it's covered, and it catches small problems while they're still small.