Are Braces Covered by Dental Insurance in Canada?
What Government Plans, Workplace Plans and Individual Plans Pay

1Who Pays for Braces in Canada: The Short Version

No provincial health plan pays for braces, and neither does the federal Canadian Dental Care Plan. That leaves three ways to get help with the bill: a dental plan through work, an individual health and dental plan you buy yourself, and the medical expense tax credit.

Each of the three has a catch. Workplace plans differ from employer to employer, and many cover children only. Individual plans that include orthodontics make you wait, usually two years, before they pay anything toward braces, and they pay a fixed lifetime amount, usually $1,000 to $2,000 per person. The tax credit gives back part of what you paid, not all of it.

Read on November 6, 2026, from canada.ca, ontario.ca and the insurers' own plan pages. Sources are listed in section 9.

2Government Dental Programs Do Not Pay for Braces

Many families assume the new federal dental plan or Ontario's children's program will help with braces. Today, neither does.

Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). The federal coverage page and the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide, effective April 1, 2026, both say: "Orthodontic services are currently not available." No start date, age rule or eligibility test for orthodontics is published on canada.ca. Earlier announcements spoke of adding orthodontics later, but the current pages give no date, so do not plan a child's treatment around it.

Healthy Smiles Ontario. This program pays for check-ups, cleanings, fillings and urgent care for children 17 and under in lower-income families. Ontario's page is direct: "Cosmetic dentistry, including teeth whitening and braces, are not covered by the program." Its fee schedule for dentists adds that extractions done for orthodontic purposes are not covered either.

Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. For people 65 and over with low income. Its list of covered services does not mention orthodontics.

When a government program does pay. Two programs pay for orthodontics in narrow medical cases:

• Ontario Cleft Lip and Palate / Craniofacial Dental Program: covers up to 75% of pre-approved specialist treatment, orthodontics included, for children and young adults with cleft lip and palate or certain other severe craniofacial conditions. Private insurance must pay first.
• British Columbia orthodontic supplement: for people on income or disability assistance with severe skeletal problems of the jaw, pre-approved case by case.

If your child does not have one of those conditions, braces are a private cost. The rest of this guide is about who shares that cost with you.

3Individual Plans That Cover Braces, Insurer by Insurer

If you have no benefits at work, you can buy a health and dental plan yourself. Most of these plans do not include orthodontics at all. Where it is included, it is only on the highest plan level, and the insurer pays a percentage up to a lifetime limit per person.

Plans with no orthodontic benefit: Sun Life Basic and Standard, Ontario Blue Cross Entry and Essential, GreenShield ZONE 1 to 5 and Fundamental, Manulife ComboPlus Basic, Canada Life Select plans. Summaries only; the policy wording sets the exact terms.

Two things in that table matter more than the percentage. First, the age column: Ontario Blue Cross stops orthodontic coverage at 18, and Pacific Blue Cross Silver covers children only, so a parent who wants braces too should look at Sun Life Enhanced or Pacific Blue Cross Gold. Second, the Manulife limit is shared: $1,250 every three years covers all major dental work together, so a crown in the same period leaves less for braces.

These top plan levels also usually ask health questions before they accept you. GreenShield's ZONE 4 to 7 plans require a health questionnaire, and Sun Life asks for basic health information. An advisor can tell you before you apply which plans are likely to accept you.

4Waiting Periods: Buy Two Years Before the Braces Go On

Every individual plan in the table makes you wait before it pays for orthodontics. The reason is simple: without a wait, people would buy a plan the month a dentist recommends braces and cancel it once the claim is paid.

Example dates for a plan bought on the first of the month and kept without a break. GreenShield and Desjardins count plan years, so check the exact start of year 3 in your contract.

In practice, an individual plan helps with braces only if you buy it well before treatment. If your dentist has already said your child needs braces in the next year, an individual plan will not pay toward them in time, and the premiums you pay during the wait can cost more than the benefit you eventually receive.

There is a second trap. Some plans refuse orthodontic claims when the appliance was put on before you were covered. The federal public service dental plan, run by Canada Life, says it plainly: no orthodontic benefits are paid "if the initial appliance was installed before the person was covered". Ask the insurer how its own wording treats treatment that is already under way.

5Dental Benefits at Work: How Orthodontic Coverage Usually Works

A workplace dental plan is the most common way Canadians get help with braces. The employer chooses whether orthodontics is included, for whom and up to what limit, so two people with the same insurer can have very different coverage. These examples come from insurers' own published plan designs:

Examples only. Your own plan booklet, or your HR or benefits contact, has the terms that apply to you.

To find out what your own plan pays, look in your benefits booklet for a line called "orthodontics" or "orthodontic services". Check four things: the percentage, the lifetime maximum, the age limit for children, and whether adults are included. Children stay on a parent's plan only to the age the plan sets; the federal public service plan, for example, keeps a child covered until the child graduates from post-secondary education or turns 25.

If both parents have dental benefits, ask each plan how it works with the other before treatment starts, and which plan pays first.

6What a Plan Really Pays Toward a Set of Braces

Sun Life, in its consumer guides on braces, says treatment "can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000". The orthodontist sets the actual price for your child's case. Here is what the published limits mean against three treatment prices in that range:

Arithmetic only, assuming the plan accepts the whole fee as eligible and the waiting period is over. Plans can pay less if they cap the fee they accept.

The lesson in the table: for most treatment, the lifetime maximum decides the payout, not the percentage. Once the bill is above $2,500 or $3,000, a 60% plan and a 50% plan pay the same, because both hit the cap.

Plans can also spread the payment over the treatment. Ontario Blue Cross's Complete Health, for example, reimburses orthodontics at up to $125 a month. Ask your orthodontist and your plan how the bill will be paid before you sign.

7Claim What You Pay on Your Tax Return

Whatever the plans do not pay, you can usually claim. The Canada Revenue Agency lists "Orthodontic work" as an eligible medical expense, with no prescription or certificate needed. The premiums you pay for a private health and dental plan are eligible too.

CRA does refuse expenses that are "purely for cosmetic purposes", and gives teeth whitening as a dental example. Orthodontics is not on CRA's list of cosmetic examples, and treatment for a medical or dental reason is not refused under that rule. If your treatment is mainly about appearance, ask your accountant.

Federal amounts from canada.ca.

Example: a family with $70,000 of net income pays $4,500 toward braces in 2026 after insurance. The threshold is the lesser of $2,100 (3% of $70,000) and $2,890, so $2,100. The family can claim $2,400. The credit is a percentage of that amount, not the full $2,400.

8Before Treatment Starts: Six Questions to Ask

• Is orthodontics on my plan at all? Look for the word in your booklet. On most individual plans and some workplace plans, it is not.
• Who is covered? Many plans cover children only, or children up to 18. Adults should check before booking.
• Has the waiting period ended? On individual plans, the wait is one to two years, sometimes until year 3.
• How much of the lifetime maximum is left? If a sibling or earlier treatment used part of it, there is less for this one.
• Will the plan pre-approve the treatment plan? Most insurers recommend sending the orthodontist's treatment plan before work begins. Canada Life's federal plan recommends it for any work of $300 or more, and its answer is valid for 180 days.
• Are clear aligners covered the same way? Some plans refuse aligners bought online directly from a company without a dentist or orthodontist responsible for the treatment.

One more question for families with income under $90,000: would buying private dental cost you the Canadian Dental Care Plan? CDCP accepts only people with no access to dental insurance, including insurance you buy yourself. CDCP does not cover braces, but it does cover check-ups, cleanings and fillings. Our guide to the Canadian Dental Care Plan or private dental insurance walks through that choice.

9Where These Numbers Come From

Every figure on this page was read at the source on November 6, 2026. Programs and plans change, so check the source before you rely on a number.

• Canada.ca, CDCP: What is covered and the CDCP Dental Benefits Guide (orthodontic services currently not available); Who qualifies.
• Ontario, Get dental care and Services covered by Healthy Smiles Ontario; Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program.
• Ontario Cleft Lip and Palate / Craniofacial Dental Program; British Columbia, Dental and orthodontic services.
• CRA, Eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199), Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1 and CRA, indexed amounts for 2025 and 2026.
• Sun Life: Personal Health Insurance comparison, dental insurance page, braces for adults and SunAdvantage group plan design.
• Ontario Blue Cross: Complete Health module comparison.
• Manulife: Flexcare ComboPlus Enhanced and DentalPlus Enhanced.
• GreenShield: ZONE 6, ZONE 7 and ZONE Fundamental.
• Desjardins: SOLO Healthcare plan sheet and health and dental FAQ.
• Pacific Blue Cross: Health & Dental plans and Blue Plus group plans.
• Canada Life: Public Service Dental Care Plan member booklet and Freedom to Choose sample booklet.

10Frequently Asked Questions