What it costs, and who pays.

The Ontario Dental Association publishes a Suggested Fee Guide for General Practitioners each year. Every treatment has a procedure code and a suggested fee attached to it. It is exactly what its name says — a reference. Dentists are not obliged to charge those amounts, and practices may charge above or below them.

This matters to you for one practical reason: when you compare two quotes, you are often comparing different procedure codes rather than different prices for the same work. Ask for the codes.

For anything beyond a routine visit, you are entitled to know the plan and the cost before you agree to it. A useful plan lists each procedure, its code, the fee, and what your insurance is expected to cover.

If a plan runs to several appointments, ask what happens if you stop partway, and what the consequence of waiting six months would be. Both are fair questions and neither should be awkward to ask.

Most Canadian dental plans are built the same way: an annual maximum, a percentage reimbursement that differs by category of treatment, and a list of exclusions. Preventive work is typically covered at a higher percentage than major restorative work.

Two things catch people out. First, plans usually reimburse against a fee guide year that may not be the current one. Second, the annual maximum resets on the plan's own calendar, which is not always January. Both are worth checking with your insurer, not your dentist — the practice cannot see the terms of your policy.

Some practices submit claims to your insurer on your behalf so you only pay the difference; others ask you to pay and claim it back yourself. Neither is a value judgement, and it varies practice by practice.

This site does not state which arrangement applies here, because it has not been confirmed. Ask when you book.

The CDCP is a federal plan administered by Health Canada. As published on canada.ca at the time this page was written, the criteria were: an adjusted family net income under $90,000; no access to private dental insurance, including through work, a pension, a professional body, or a health spending account; a filed Canadian tax return for the previous year; and Canadian residency for tax purposes.

Eligibility rules and the list of covered procedures have both changed since the plan launched, so check canada.ca for the current position rather than relying on any dental website, this one included. Whether an individual practice participates is a separate question, and one only the practice can answer.

These are the ones that change the answer:

• What is the fee for an examination, and does that include X-rays and a cleaning?
• Will I get a written estimate with procedure codes before treatment starts?
• Do you bill my insurer directly, or do I pay and claim it back?
• Do you take CDCP patients?
• If I need several appointments, can the cost be spread out?