How to Show CDCP on Your Dental Website (2026)

The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) gives eligible patients federal dental coverage, and many of them start by looking for a clinic that accepts it. The government tells them to confirm, before booking, that a clinic accepts CDCP clients and bills Sun Life directly. Your website can answer that before they pick up the phone.

As of August 31, 2026, 12,811 oral health providers in Ontario were taking part in the plan, out of 29,293 across Canada. This guide covers what to say on your site, where to say it, and how to keep it accurate. Each rule links to the canada.ca page it comes from.

CDCP in one paragraph

The CDCP is a federal program that helps make dental care more affordable for eligible Canadian residents. According to canada.ca, a person qualifies if they have no access to private dental insurance, their adjusted family net income is under $90,000, they and any spouse or partner have filed Canadian tax returns, and they're Canadian residents for tax purposes. Applications for the 2026 to 2027 benefit period are open.

What the patient pays depends on income. These are the co-payment levels on the CDCP coverage page as of October 2026.

The same page warns that CDCP fees may not be the same as what providers charge. A patient can owe more than their co-payment if your fee is higher than the CDCP fee. Your website should say that plainly, so nobody is surprised at the front desk.

How your clinic takes part

The CDCP page for oral health professionals describes two ways to take part. You can sign up formally through Sun Life, or submit claims to Sun Life on a claim-by-claim basis. Either way, by submitting a claim you agree to bill Sun Life directly for services the plan covers.

Canada.ca also says CDCP clients should not be asked to pay the full cost upfront. They pay only the amount the plan doesn't cover, if any. If your website says payment is due at the time of service, add a line that explains how CDCP visits work.

Patients don't need to know which route you chose. Your site only has to say that you accept CDCP patients and bill Sun Life directly.

What patients are told to check

Canada.ca's after you apply page tells patients what to do before getting care. They should confirm the provider accepts CDCP clients and will bill Sun Life directly, and ask whether there are costs beyond their co-payment. To receive care, they need their CDCP member ID, a piece of identification, their coverage start date and their co-payment level.

The same page points patients to Sun Life's CDCP Provider Search, or suggests they contact a provider in their community. Your website is part of that second route. Each thing patients are told to check is a question your CDCP page can answer.

What to put on your CDCP page

A dedicated page works better than one line in an insurance FAQ. It gives your team a link to text or email to patients, and it gives Google a clear page to show for CDCP searches.

• A plain first line. “We accept Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) patients and bill Sun Life directly.”
• Who qualifies, in one sentence, with a link to canada.ca so patients check the current rules there.
• How payment works. Patients pay their co-payment plus any difference between your fee and the CDCP fee. If your team explains extra costs before treatment, say so.
• What to bring. CDCP member ID, identification, coverage start date and co-payment level.
• Preauthorization. The coverage page says some services, including those beyond set frequency limits, need CDCP preauthorization first.
• What isn't covered right now. As of the coverage page's August 2026 update, orthodontic services are “currently not available” under the plan.
• How to book. A call button, and a checkbox on your booking form for “I have CDCP coverage”.
• Languages your team speaks, if you serve patients in more than one language.
• A date, such as “Last checked October 2026”, so patients know the page is current.

Where else to mention CDCP

One page is the anchor. Short mentions elsewhere help patients find it.

• Your homepage, near the booking button, as one short line linking to the CDCP page.
• Your insurance or fees page, with CDCP listed next to the insurers you bill directly.
• Your new patient page, in the list of what to bring.
• Your FAQ, with a question like “Do you accept CDCP?” that links to the full page.
• Your Google Business Profile description, kept to plain facts.

Ontario programs that overlap

Some patients also qualify for Ontario programs. The federal Ontario coordination fact sheet (version 3.0, May 2026) says CDCP is the primary payer relative to Healthy Smiles Ontario, ODSP and Ontario Works. Healthy Smiles Ontario and ODSP act as secondary payers where coordination is possible, and the claim goes to CDCP through Sun Life first. Ontario Works dental benefits are run by municipalities and First Nations communities.

The Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program works differently. The fact sheet says there's no coordination of benefits between it and CDCP, so the patient chooses which program to use. If your clinic accepts any of these programs, list them on the same page so patients and staff see the full picture.

Use the government toolkit, minus the testimonials

Canada.ca publishes a CDCP promotional toolkit with a poster, web banners and buttons, multilingual factsheets and social media posts. The banner page says that once downloaded, “the images can be added to your professional website.” The multilingual factsheets are useful in the GTA, where some of your patients may prefer to read in another language.

The toolkit also has a testimonials section with patient and provider videos and quotes. I'd leave those off a clinic website. The RCDSO's advertising advisory bars testimonials, and I found nothing from the College that treats a government video differently. I cover the details in RCDSO advertising rules for dental websites.

Keep CDCP wording factual

A CDCP page is still advertising, so the College's rules on misleading statements apply. Three phrases cause most of the trouble.

• “Free dental care with CDCP.” Many patients pay a co-payment or extra fees, so this can mislead. Write “CDCP may cover some or all of your costs.”
• “We'll get you approved.” The government decides eligibility. Link to canada.ca and let patients check there.
• “Your treatment is covered.” Some services need preauthorization, and fees can differ. Say your team will confirm coverage and costs before treatment, if that's how you work.

How Markhamack Dental handles it

Markhamack Dental in Markham has a new site replacing its old WordPress one, with handover the week of October 18, 2026. The new site has a dedicated CDCP dental coverage page, a separate page for the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), a fees and insurance page and two CDCP landing pages. Landing pages like these give a clinic a focused page to link from a post, an email or its Google profile. You can see the build in the Markhamack case study.

Keep it current

Canada.ca updates CDCP pages often. The coverage page was last changed in August 2026 and the eligibility page in September 2026. Check them at the start of each benefit year and whenever Health Canada announces a change.

If your front desk can edit the CDCP page without a developer, an update takes minutes. That's worth asking about when you plan a rebuild, along with the rest of the dental website checklist for GTA clinics.

What I'd do

Give CDCP its own page. Say you bill Sun Life directly in the first line, explain co-payments and extra costs plainly, and link to canada.ca for eligibility. Then link that page from your homepage, insurance page and booking form, and add a “last checked” date.

If you're planning a rebuild, my dental website design page shows what I include and what it costs. If you're moving off an old site, read how to redesign without losing your Google rankings first.