Canadian Dental Care Plan promotional toolkit: Testimonials

The gift of improving oral health

By: Shannon Maitland RDH, CAE

Registered Dental Hygienist

Dental Hygiene Educator

Growing up my family didn't have dental benefits. My dental care was limited to dental emergencies. As a child, I broke my two front teeth and needed restoration work. A few years later, I had a root canal and eventually needed a crown. These interactions with oral health professionals could have been traumatic, but instead they left a positive impression. Their kindness and compassion led me to a career in oral health care as a dental hygienist.

Starting a mobile practice

After working in a dental clinic for several years, I started to feel that I needed a change. In 2021, my mom passed away and it solidified my decision to take a step back from practice to recover and heal. I ended up teaching at the school where I trained as a hygienist, but after some time, I started to miss caring for clients.

I knew that I could have a greater impact on people's lives by working directly with them, so I decided to open my independent practice. What makes my practice special is that I go to my clients. I treat a range of clients, including seniors who can no longer drive, busy families, and people with physical disabilities or crippling anxiety, right in my dental hygiene van. The inside is fitted as a dental hygiene clinic and I've created a welcoming and friendly atmosphere, accessible right there in my client's own surroundings.

Signing-up for the CDCP

I registered for the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) as soon as it opened for providers. It was an easy decision as someone who grew up without regular dental care. Now that I'm a hygienist, I know how important preventative care is to our overall health and well-being.

The people who are eligible for the CDCP qualify based on their income. I'm hearing directly from CDCP clients that they simply couldn't afford dental care before the CDCP because their small income goes towards groceries and electricity. The advantage of the CDCP is that they don't have to sacrifice their basics needs to take care of their teeth.

I'm getting to know clients who are getting care under the CDCP and it makes it real. Many of these seniors haven't received dental care in the last 20 or 30 years. They need a lot of care and have a lot of anxiety. I spend a good amount of time speaking to them to try and ease their worries and make them comfortable. I love getting to know people in my community through my work. I get to hear a whole life come to fruition, all while educating them about their oral health.

Oral health care is health care

I'm not just taking care of my client's teeth. During a visit, I'm doing screenings for high blood pressure, signs of oral cancer and possible airway obstruction, and I also do medical referrals if needed. I once had a patient call me, after I had referred him for high blood pressure, to tell me he ended up needing a stress test on his heart. It turns out they found a blockage and he needed a stent put in. By simply doing my job, I potentially prevented a heart attack.

Recently I treated a Ukrainian couple who immigrated to Canada because of the war. They qualified for the CDCP and came to me after a very long time without dental care. They had a lot of dental work that was failing over the years and didn't have the money to have it fixed. Although they didn't speak much English and communication was limited, I could tell how much getting care meant to them. At the end of the appointment the wife was crying and hugging me. That's enough communication for me.

I'm having to find a new normal since the passing of my mom, but my experience as an independent dental hygienist has solidified that what I do is so good for people. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I'm improving people's lives. It is truly a gift.

Canadian Dental Care Plan: a better way to bite into life

By: Benoit Talbot

President, Association des denturologistes du Québec

As a denturist, when I heard about the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), I knew I couldn’t pass it up, especially since the first cohorts to be covered by the Plan were seniors. They’re our main customers: seniors are the ones wearing dentures and very seldomly 20- or 30-year-olds.

Seniors responded

As soon as the Plan was launched, seniors turned out! If I may offer a thought, whether we like it or not, seniors are sometimes forgotten members of our society and, once they’ve retired, we tend to put them into a separate category. But with the Plan’s introduction, these people are so happy and grateful for what the CDCP represents for them, especially in terms of their quality of life.

Over the past few months, I’ve seen patients who have gone 10 or 15 years without dentures because they couldn’t afford them. These people are really looking forward to being able to bite into their food and eat something other than a soft diet because their dentures were too worn or simply could no longer be used. While I am happy to treat these people, the denturist in me also needs to do a bit of educating. Sometimes we have to tell them that there has been gum (bone) resorption or that their tongue has become very wide from having to aid with chewing, and that they won’t be able to eat a steak the next day. We have to explain that the restoration is going to take a little longer but that we’re going to support them through the process.

For most of my CDCP patients, receiving new dentures gave them not only the opportunity to smile again but also the ability to bite into life! I remember a lady, after a successful fitting, who came to bring me homemade jam because she was so grateful to be able to eat everyday food again. Small things like that go straight to the heart. That is what we see with the CDCP: people who have access to new dentures after suffering for years or decades and who can now enjoy life!

Lastly, as far as the technical aspect of the CDCP goes, everything is going quite well with the reimbursement submissions. There may be exceptions and more time may be needed to sort things out, but the process is efficient in most cases. In my 43-year career, rarely have I seen a claim submitted on a Monday and then the reimbursement already deposited in our bank account on Wednesday!

A few words about the denturist profession

A denturist’s work goes beyond taking impressions to determine the size and shape of the dentures to be made. There’s everything from fitting and placing dentures into the mouth, to adjustments and repairs. Basically, I’d say that being a denturist also means being able to work at 2 levels: you have to be good with your hands and enjoy working the material to make dentures, and you have to enjoy interacting with people. I like talking to them. I wish for every patient to leave my office with a positive experience.