What is the Canada Dental Benefit?

The new interim Canada Dental Benefit will be available for children under 12 in families who have an adjusted net income of less than $90,000 and who do not have access to private dental insurance. It will allow eligible families to receive upfront, direct payments per child up to $650 per year, for two years, for oral health services. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will be processing the applications and payments for the benefit, and applications will start being accepted starting on December 1, 2022.

Who is eligible to receive the interim Canada Dental Benefit?

To be eligible, families need to meet all of the following conditions for each child they apply for:

• Have a child under 12 years of age who does not have access to private dental care coverage (employer-based or purchased through the applicant or other family member);
• Have an adjusted family net income under $90,000 per year;
• Have filed last year’s income tax and benefit return (for the taxation year 2021, to be eligible in 2022—for more information on how to file a return, visit Canada.ca/doing-your-taxes);
• Be the parent (or legal guardian) who receives the Canada Child Benefit for that child;
• Have incurred—or will incur—out of pocket costs for the dental care of the eligible child which have not been fully reimbursed under another federal, provincial or territorial government program; and
• Provide information on the recent or planned oral health care visit that the benefit would be used to pay for, along with information about the oral health care provider.

What constitutes the definition of a child under 12? As of what date?

Eligible children need to be 11 years old or under as of December 1, 2022, for the first year of the benefit, and 11 years old or under as of July 1, 2023, for the second year of the benefit.

What types of dental care are covered by the Canada Dental Benefit?

The Canada Dental Benefit can be used for any oral health care provided by a regulated oral health professional licensed to practice in the place where care is provided.

How much money do eligible families receive?

The interim Canada Dental Benefit provides payments up to $650 per child under 12, per year for two years, for families with an adjusted net income under $90,000 per year.

• $650 is provided for each eligible child, per year, if the family’s adjusted net income is under $70,000.
• $390 is provided for each eligible child, per year, if the family’s adjusted net income is between $70,000 and $79,999.
• $260 is provided for each eligible child, per year, if the family’s adjusted net income is between $80,000 and $89,999.