How to Apply for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program

The short answer

You can apply online or by mail. The Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP) is a government-funded program that provides free, routine dental services for low-income seniors who are 65 years of age or older. Apply online through the Accerta seniors portal linked from the Ontario page, or by mail with Form 5125-20E. If you do not have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) or did not file your taxes last year, a guarantor must help you apply by mail with Form 5126-20E.

Who can apply

You can apply for the program if you meet all four rules on the Ontario dental care for seniors page:

• are 65 years of age or older
• are a resident of Ontario
• meet the income requirements: an annual net income of $25,480 or less for a single senior, or a combined annual net income of $42,290 or less for a couple
• have no other form of dental benefits, apart from the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), including private insurance or dental coverage under another government program such as Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, or Non-Insured Health Benefits

Ontario verifies your income using the SIN you provide when you apply. It uses your SIN to verify your annual net income from your tax return. That is why filing taxes matters: without a return on file, the SIN check has nothing to verify, and you fall onto the guarantor path instead.

What the program covers

Coverage includes check-ups, including scaling, fluoride and polishing; repairing broken teeth and cavities; x-rays; removing teeth or abnormal tissue (oral surgery); anesthesia; treating infection and pain (endodontic services); and treating gum conditions and diseases (periodontal services).

Two limits apply. Certain dental procedures have limits based on scientific and clinical criteria, and your OSDCP dental provider can provide more information based on your situation. Dental prosthetics, including dentures, are only partially covered — speak to your local public health unit for more information.

If you are accepted, you can access dental services through public health units, partner Community Health Centres, and partner Aboriginal Health Access Centres. Access to the full range of dental services varies across the province. For information about where to access services and what is available near you, contact your local public health unit. Your local public health unit can also help you apply.

The coverage year ends every July 31

Once you are enrolled in the program, your coverage period is for up to one year. Your coverage will end on July 31 every year, no matter when you enroll. The welcome package includes a dental card that expires on July 31, and you must present your card to your dental provider at each visit to receive services under the program.

Every year, eligibility is automatically verified for most clients to confirm enrolment for the next benefit period. You will be notified by mail if you are eligible to keep participating, or about how to reapply, if required. You must reapply if you applied using a guarantor, or if you do not file taxes for the most recent tax years that your eligibility is being determined from.

How to apply online

Before you begin the online application, you need your date of birth, a valid Ontario address, your SIN or Temporary Taxation Number (TTN), and to have filed your taxes last year.

There are two ways to apply online:

1. Complete the online application and provide the applicable eSignature(s).
2. Complete the online application and print, fill out, and mail in the consent form. The completed consent form should be mailed within 30 days to Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, Station P, P.O. Box 159, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S7.

Start from the Ontario dental care for seniors page, which links to the online application. If you and your spouse or common-law partner are applying to the program, you must submit two separate applications.

How to apply by mail

To apply by mail:

1. Download and print the application form, or get one in person from your local public health unit.
2. Fill out and complete the application form.
3. Mail the completed form to Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, Station P, P.O. Box 159, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S7.

The form is Form 5125-20E, Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program Application, from the Ontario Central Forms Repository. The repository states you may use this form if you and your spouse, if applicable, have filed your personal tax return(s) with the Canada Revenue Agency for the most recent tax year and have a valid SIN. If your spouse or common-law partner would also like to apply, they must complete their own application form.

If you do not have a SIN or did not file a tax return

If you do not have a SIN or did not file your taxes last year, a guarantor must help you apply by mail. A guarantor is someone who can confirm the identity, age, and residency of the individual or couple applying to the program. The guarantor must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years of age, and a practising member in good standing with a provincial regulatory body, from Ontario's published list — for example a nurse, doctor, pharmacist, lawyer, social worker, teacher, dentist or dental hygienist, police officer, notary public, or mayor. If more than one person in your household is applying, you only need one guarantor per household.

Use Form 5126-20E, Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program Application Through Guarantor. The repository states you may use this form if you do not have a valid SIN and/or if you have not filed your personal tax return(s) with the Canada Revenue Agency for the most recent tax year. Print the form, fill it out, and mail it to the same program address: Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, Station P, P.O. Box 159, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S7. There is no online route for a guarantor application — the Ontario page states the guarantor must help you apply by mail. And as noted above, if you applied using a guarantor, you must reapply each year.

The Ontario program and the federal Canadian Dental Care Plan are different

The OSDCP is a provincial program run by Ontario. The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is a federal program run by the Government of Canada. They are separate programs with separate applications and separate income rules.

Ontario states that you may qualify for the CDCP and may still be eligible for the OSDCP provided you meet the provincial eligibility criteria. Having CDCP coverage does not block the Ontario program — it is the one exception to the no-other-dental-benefits rule. This guide does not walk through the CDCP application. For the federal plan, see our How to Start Getting Dental Care Covered in Canada — the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) guide.

After you apply

Once you have completed and submitted your application form, you will be contacted by phone and/or mail if there are any issues with your application or if your application is incomplete. If your application is approved, you will receive a welcome package and dental card in the mail that will expire on July 31. The welcome package will tell you how to access services, where to book an appointment, how to book an appointment, and what you need to bring to each appointment.

If you have questions or need to replace your dental card, contact the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program at 416-916-0204, toll-free 1-833-207-4435, or toll-free TTY 1-800-855-0511. Ontario notes that the program contacts clients by phone or mail and does not send invoices — if you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from the OSDCP, do not open attachments or click on links, and contact the program using the numbers above to determine if the message is authentic.

If you are enrolled and would like to make changes to your account, complete and submit Form 5128, Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. Change of Information, mailed to the same program address.

If your details change: Form 5128

If you are enrolled and your details change, use Form 5128, Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. Change of Information. Through this form you can update applicant information, contact information, marital status and/or spousal information, your income declaration, or withdraw consent to disclose personal information and/or personal health information. Mail the completed form to the same program address: Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program, Station P, P.O. Box 159, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S7.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened Ontario page does not state how long an application takes to process, so this guide gives no processing time — if your application is incomplete, the program contacts you by phone or mail, and that is the only timing the page describes. The page also does not name the online portal operator in its text; it links to the online application without naming Accerta, so the portal name in this guide comes from the program's application route as described at plot time, and the link to start from is the Ontario page itself. The page does not state an effective date for the income limits; it shows the figures $25,480 and $42,290 on a page updated July 31, 2026. The opened pages do not state whether a paper form can be submitted in person at a public health unit — they say only that a form can be picked up there and mailed. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is Ontario's decision when it assesses your application.

Related guides

• How to Start Getting Dental Care Covered in Canada — the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) — the federal dental plan, which does not block the Ontario program.
• How to Apply for the Guaranteed Income Supplement — the federal top-up for low-income seniors receiving Old Age Security.
• How to Apply for Old Age Security in Canada — the federal pension most OSDCP applicants already receive.
• How to Apply for ODSP in Ontario — Ontario disability support, whose dental coverage disqualifies you from the OSDCP while it is in place.
• How to Apply for Ontario Works — Ontario's income support, whose dental coverage also disqualifies you from the OSDCP while it is in place.
• How to Apply for the Ontario Trillium Benefit — Ontario's combined energy, property tax, and sales tax credit, also claimed through your tax return.

Sources

• Government of Ontario, Dental care for seniors — the program's coverage list, the July 31 coverage-year rule, the $25,480 single and $42,290 couple income limits, the other-dental-benefits exclusion with the CDCP exception, the online and mail routes, the 30-day consent form rule, the guarantor rules and eligible professions, the renewal rules, and the program phone numbers.
• Ontario Central Forms Repository, Form 014-5125-20E — Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program Application — the mail application form number and the condition that applicants have filed a tax return and hold a valid SIN.
• Ontario Central Forms Repository, Form 014-5126-20 — Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program Application Through Guarantor — the guarantor application form number and the condition that it is for applicants without a valid SIN or without a filed tax return.
• Ontario Central Forms Repository, Form 5128 — Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. Change of Information — the change-of-information form for enrolled clients, covering applicant and contact information, marital status and spousal information, income declaration, and withdrawing consent.