5 Millionen Kanadier, die jetzt im Nationalen Zahnpflegeplan abgedeckt sind, aber fast die Hälfte war nicht bei einem Zahnarzt
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/5-million-patients-covered-canadian-dental-care-plan-1.7648516
5 Millionen Kanadier, die jetzt im Nationalen Zahnpflegeplan abgedeckt sind, aber fast die Hälfte war nicht bei einem Zahnarzt
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/5-million-patients-covered-canadian-dental-care-plan-1.7648516
4 Kommentare
This is a bad thing only if Canadians are too overworked and not given enough time to go to a dentist. Otherwise this is nothing burger news as it takes time for people to realize what they are eligible for in a extremely stressful time as this.
I grew up poor and only have a memory of going to the dentist once in my life as a kid (I was maybe 7 or 8), it just wasn’t something my family did, so I had no clue that it was actually important, how to find a dentist, how to make an appointment, etc.
I had a job with dental benefits for years before I finally went to get my teeth cleaned, and that was only because my coworkers kept teasing me about it and telling me it was something I needed to do. I didn’t even know what a cleaning was or that I needed to ask for a cleaning when I call and make an appointment.
I’m very grateful for my coworkers who helped me make that first appointment. Ended up needing 5 fillings and a root canal. But I can definitely understand why people who have never been to a dentist would be hesitant to go.
I think 6 months is a bit too early to be jumping to definitive conclusions here unless there’s more data to back them up. Some of it could be a consequence of income inequality/lower income patients not wanting to fork out money/give up work, but it could also be that a large percentage of patients aren’t having appointments bi-annually.
For instance, since I have very good dental health & hygiene and practice diligent preventative care (no cavities, no gum disease/bleeding, brush my whole mouth, use a combination of gum soft-picks/flossers/mouthwash/deep cleaning toothpaste/whitening paste daily & have strong enamel/lack of decay etc.) it’s gotten to the point that my dentist has suggested a single annual appointment instead of two.
Besides those possibilities, there’s also just a general lack of urgency/callousness that can be factored in since there’s various people that probably figure a checkup every year or two is fine and don’t sign up for regular annual/bi-annual appointments due to a lack of pressing dental concerns etc. Even when financial wellbeing/coverage is factored in.
I think the data will become a lot clearer after program has been in effect for multiple years.
I mean reading the description of the CDCP, it says that for households under $70k don’t pay a deductible *up to the established covered amount*. I was confused as to what the covered amount might look like, so I went and did a bit of digging.
Sun Life has [this page](https://www.sunlife.ca/sl/cdcp/en/provider/dental-benefit-grids/) summarizing fees for different providers in different provinces that are covered by the CDCP plan. I looked up the established covered amount for a routine dental cleaning – something I do annually now that I’m insured and making enough money to afford to see a dentist – and I was surprised to learn that it does not really cover what dentists are actually charging.
[In Ontario](https://www.sunlife.ca/content/dam/sunlife/regional/canada/documents/cxo/cdcp/grids/cdcp-on-dh-benefit-grid-2025-e.pdf), a routine hygenics appointment is only covered up to about $100 by some of the codes included, whereas my before-insurance charge for this at my dentist (and for other dentists in the area) is $270. So even with a 100% deductible, if the approved amount is still $170 short of what someone was actually paying then that person is still paying $170 which is a *lot of money for a lot of households*.
Once again, we cannot simply provide a universal fully comprehensive program to people, have to always find a way to scale it back, make it imperfect, pre-compromise with conservatives on making sure people don’t get too many services for their tax dollars, and when we do all these things we scratch our heads and wonder why people are still not visiting the dentist with their incomplete and not fully rolled-out dental insurance. It’s crazy.