More than 70 per cent of dentists now accepting patients through Canadian Dental Care Plan

More than 70 per cent of dentists are now accepting patients through Canada's new public dental insurance program — a significant increase over the 50 per cent participation rate reported a month ago.

The federal government attributes the higher uptake to changes it introduced on July 8 that allow dental clinics to submit claims without officially registering as providers of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).

The changes permit dentists, denturists and independent hygienists to perform work on patients covered by the CDCP and to be reimbursed by Ottawa on a case-by-case basis.

Health Minister Mark Holland said 6,000 oral health-care providers have chosen to take part in the CDCP since Ottawa changed the rules.

«We've been absolutely blown away by the participation,» Holland told CBC News on Tuesday.

As of today, 16,612 dentists, 1,746 denturists and 857 dental hygienists are taking part in the program. That's more than 19,000 oral health-care providers out of what Health Canada estimates is a potential pool of 25,170.

Ottawa introduced the option to accept CDCP patients on a case-by-case basis after dentists expressed concerns about the complexity of the contracts they were required to sign in order to be registered providers.

Permitting oral health-care providers to be reimbursed without officially registering also allows dental clinics to avoid losing their patients to clinics that participate in the CDCP.

Holland has pitched the change as a way for health professionals to try the program out before signing on. He also has assured dentists that submitting claims on a case-by-case basis will be a permanent option going forward.

450,000 treated in first three months of program

The CDCP is a massive expansion of Canada's