Now that the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), which is being administered by SunLife, has been officially rolled out and is operational, we are pleased to let you know that our clinic is prepared to work with you so that you can make the most of its dental benefits.
To determine whether you are eligible for the plan, please visit:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan.html
This site will offer you information regarding eligibility requirements, how to apply, coverage start date, and who can apply.
If you determine that you are in fact eligible, you must enroll in the plan and then bring the SunLife card that you will receive with all of your enrollment details to your next dental appointment. You must also renew annually through the government by June 1st after you’ve filed your taxes for the previous year.
Please note that the CDCP is a limited dental benefits plan, it does not work like traditional private dental insurance and the coverage is limited chronologically by patient. You cannot get more benefits by office hopping as the government tracks all benefits paid per patient, not office.
Also note that The CDCP fee guide is different than the Manitoba Dental Association fee guide that is followed by most dental offices in Manitoba, including ours, so there will be discrepancies between the two. It is better to think of the CDCP as a subsidy to basic dental treatment costs where your level of subsidy depends on your family income. Patients are therefore still responsible to cover any amount not looked after by the CDCP despite what you may be told by over the phone by Sunlife/CRA.
At this time mainly basic dental care is covered (fillings, limited hygiene services), Sunlife has informed us that any major dental work must be pre-authorized. In our experience so far, most patients who have qualified for 100% ‘coverage’ in actuality have faced additional charges of between 20 to 30%. Fieldstone Dental Clinic cannot provide information regarding what SunLife will cover over the phone, you should be able to obtain that information directly from SunLife. Any additional monies will be owed at the end of your appointment.
Once you are enrolled, we will update your file to include your SunLife information, and we will be able to submit directly to SunLife on your behalf electronically once any work has been completed. This will allow you to know immediately what your balance will be. All balances are due the day of treatment. Deposits may be required for anticipated balances on pre-authorized major dental work and work may have to be pre-authorized again if not completed by June 1st.
Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to providing you with the highest quality dental care possible while maintaining the sustainability of dental care outside the Perimeter in Manitoba.
Policy on Predetermination of Crowns and Dentures:
The CDCP allows for limited amounts of major dental work like Crowns and Dentures. There are strict criteria and limitations that are not evident to the public from the government brochure, website and advertising. The process to collect and submit the necessary x-rays and data is significantly more lengthy and onerous for our clinic than for private insurance. Please also be aware that Sunlife has posted on their website that to protect public funds not all major work will be approved. The profession’s experience in Manitoba to date is that as little as 5% of these predeterminations will ultimately be approved even if the patient theoretically qualifies. As clinic and staff time is a limited and expensive resource in Westman, we will be charging for our time to collect and submit this data and patients need to be aware that CDCP will not pay for these charges. All data collection charges will be due at the time of data collection and are non-refundable.
Policy on Patients with Three Dental Insurances
More and more families have part time jobs in our difficult economy. Traditionally people had one or two workplace or private insurance plans. While we are cheered that people have additional coverage to help with attending to their dental needs we have discovered that insurance companies like to pass the buck when three plans are involved and there are months long delays and administration work involved in getting paid. Particularly if one plan is a government sponsored social plan. To avoid administration charges for unusual time spent, patients need to find out which plan is the primary plan and inform us. We would also like patients to be aware that they may still owe copays and deposits and are responsible for settling their account if insurance doesn’t ultimately pay for the services they received.
April 15, 2025