Canada's dental care plan begins today. Here's what you need to know
Canada’s national dental care plan begins covering 1.7 million seniors today — the first phase of a massive public oral health-care insurance program that eventually will cover one quarter of Canadians. But many patients may still be kept waiting to get their dental visits covered.
![Canada's dental care plan begins today. Here's what you need to know](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7189936.1714514080!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/shannon-maitland.jpg)
![Shannon Maitland, a dental hygienist in the Ottawa area, has signed up as a provider of the CDCP. She has some 20 patients already lined up to receive care under the national program, but is waiting a few weeks before seeing them while the program gets underway. Shannon Maitland, a dental hygienist in the Ottawa is seen in personal protective equipment with a patient in her mobile dental van.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7189936.1714514080!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/shannon-maitland.jpg)
Canada’s national dental care plan begins covering 1.7 million seniors today — the first phase of a massive public oral health-care insurance program that eventually will cover one quarter of Canadians. But many patients may still be kept waiting to get their dental visits covered.