New procedures covered under federal dental plan

Starting on Friday, the federal dental plan will cover more complex procedures than it used to.

Now included are pre-authorized services such as partial dentures, crowns, procedures that require anesthesia, and other complex dental health conditions.

Federal officials were at the Vancouver Community College’s (VCC) Dental School Friday to share some of the details.

“Each [patient] will be handled on a case-by-case basis and, as with the entire program, it is based entirely on medical need,” said Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech.

Currently, people under the age of 18 or over 65 or with a registered disability are able to get dental work covered under the program. Next year, the plan is set to expand to all Canadian families with a household income less than $90,000. This is expected to add 4.1 million more people to the program.

It has also started accepting paper billing, which will allow patients to get procedures done with dentists who don’t use any form of electronic system.

“We want everybody to be participating in the program, and this is going to allow those other providers to be able to come onboard so that Canadians can access the dental care they need — and that they deserve — from wherever they are in Canada,” Beech said.

About 10 per cent of dental care providers are not yet part of the federal dental program.

VCC president Ajay Patel says the move to public dental care is a shared priority between the school and the federal government.

“We also believe that the increased access to the dental care that Minister Beech just announced will not only benefit individuals and families, but it will also create rich learning opportunities for our students,” Patel said.

The program is currently estimated to cost around $4.5 billion a year.