Canadian Dental Association

Approximately 61 per cent of dentists surveyed by their provincial associations earlier this month said they weren't planning to sign up for the program based on the information they had at the time, the Canadian Dental Association said. 

The new federal budget shows the government's dental-care insurance program is projected to cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, adding another $7.3 billion over five years.

The federal government is pledging a suite of measures to address affordability issues, including a temporary GST rebate hike, a one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit and the long-awaited first phase of Canada’s national dental care plan.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is confident the federal government will be able to set up its proposed dental-care program by the end of the year.