The Dental Plan is a Scam – A Truth Too Many Are Afraid to Say
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
Let’s talk about this so-called “Dental Plan” the government keeps promoting like it’s a gift from the heavens.
Here’s the truth: if you don’t have money for food or rent, you sure as hell don’t have money to cover the “extras” the dentists always demand. And there are always extras.
I’ve lived it. I couldn’t take my kid to the dentist. Sure, the basics were supposed to be covered — but then came the surprise charges. "Oh, it’s only $20 more for the full checkup," they’d say. That $20 might as well have been $200 when you’re living hand to mouth. My friend went through the exact same thing — no dentist will actually do the work for what’s covered. There’s always something they say isn’t included.
It’s a huge con, and it's been going on for years. People are being told they have “coverage,” but that’s just smoke and mirrors. It’s not full care — it’s a partial coupon for a service that’s unaffordable anyway. And worse, some dentists won’t even take the plans.
I haven’t applied for the new Canada Dental Benefit — because I have no money. It doesn’t matter what the plan says if you still have to front costs. I won a settlement, but have to fight in court to get it. I refuse to go on welfare because I know how that system works — how it traps people, how it stigmatizes, how it’s designed to humiliate.
Meanwhile, while I’m trying to survive, my friend got some dental work done. Then he broke a tooth — now they want $300 for a fix. He has to wait until September when the plan “kicks in again.” So he walks around without a front tooth. He’s missing multiple teeth now. That’s what poverty does to your smile — it erases it.
As for me? My back teeth broke off about two years ago. Everything I read said, “Go to the dentist now or risk infection.” But I didn’t — I couldn’t. I used toothpicks and cedar tea to keep things clean. One winter, when everything was crashing down — family stress, mental health crises — I went to the ER. Know what they said? “We can’t help. Keep it clean and see a dentist.”
What kind of system is this? One where you can’t eat properly, where you’re in pain or at risk of infection — and all you get is, “Keep it clean and go into debt.”
My friend told me the tools at his dentist’s office looked ancient — tools he’d never seen before. And yes, let’s talk about something controversial: who are these dentists? Where were they trained? How many dentists in Canada today were actually born and trained here? That’s not about racism — that’s about standards and accountability. We need transparency. We need stats. We need to ask why people are being charged hundreds or thousands of dollars, for care that may not even be up to par.
And let’s not forget — I did everything they told me to. I took a job-search course for people over 55. I applied everywhere. I tried so hard. I watched 2024 bring in floods of international students and immigrants, while the housing market exploded and the job market dried up for people like me.
It’s all rigged. The housing, the jobs, and yes — even the dental care.
So no, I’m not going to smile for the cameras. Not when my smile has been stolen by a system that was never meant to serve people like me.
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