Thousands more oral health providers are now participating in the federal government’s dental care plan.
Federal officials credit the higher uptake to recent changes made to the Canadian Dental Care Program.
Providers can now bill Sun Life Financial directly on a claim-by-claim basis if they do not want to register with the program.
“More than 6,500 providers have participated in the program using claim-by-claim. That takes us to 19,000 providers across the country,” Health Minister Mark Holland announced Wednesday.
“That represents 75 per cent of oral health professionals. To break it down for dentists specifically, that number is over 70 per cent.”
Federal figures show more than 16,600 dentists and dental specialists have now participated in the program.
That is in addition to more than 1,700 denturists and nearly 860 dental hygienists, according to the figures.
“Just a month ago, before we launched the alternative pathway, we were at about 50 per cent of providers, so in a period of three months to be at 75 per cent is incredibly important,” said Holland.
More than 2.3 million Canadians have signed up for the program since it launched in May and nearly 450,000 have received care.
Seniors were the first group of Canadians eligible to receive services. It has since expanded to include adults with disabilities and children under the age of 18.
Officials have said the plan is expected to help up to nine million Canadians once it is fully rolled out in 2025.
The plan is for those with family incomes under $90,000 per year and who do not have access to dental insurance.
