For my fellow Ottawans who are looking for cheap or free dental treatment, you came to the right place!
Maintaining regular dental appointments can be expensive, but do you know what is more expensive? Not going. Neglecting your teeth can allow small issues to turn into big issues. For example; a small cavity can simply be fixed, but if it gets too big the tooth may need to be extracted.
Regular dental cleanings are so important to maintain your oral health and prevent gum disease which in turn can affect the rest of your body.
Below is a chart of all the places and events that offer free or low-cost dental cleanings and or treatment.
Table Of Locations
| Reference # | Location |
| 1 | Pro Bono Dental |
| 2 | Ottawa Public Health Calendar |
| 3 | City of Ottawa and Ontario Programs Including; ODSP EHSS Ottawa Dental Society Healthy Smiles Ontario Works Dental care for low-income seniors |
| 4 | Gift From The Heart |
| 5 | Warmstone Free Dentistry Day |
| 6 | Free Yazdani |
| 7 | Free Centrum |
| 8 | Villanova Free Dentistry Day |
| 9 | Algonquin College Dental Clinic Algonquin College Fees |
| 10 | Canadian National Institute of Health Dental Clinic |
| 11 | La Cité Dental Clinic |
| 12 | If you are willing to go to Toronto or Montreal, there are Dentistry schools that offer more treatments by dentists in training. See below for more information. |
There is an application process for Pro Bono Dental and you need to be able to meet their terms in order to be approved for treatment. I went onto their website and Facebook page and it is not clear if they are actually still running, but an email to them wouldn’t hurt to verify. They do have a list of participating dentists that you could check out as well.
The terms and conditions include; having a permanent address in Ottawa, proving that you have low-income/minimum wage, no criminal records or drug dependencies, no serious medical conditions, no insurance, and giving permission to use your before and after photos.
As of 2022, I am not sure if this program is still running, but they do have a list of providers that you could call can ask if they are still offering services.
Ottawa Public Health offers free dental screenings, fluoride varnish applications, denture cleanings (only at some locations), and information on dental health. They welcome all ages and you can enroll for Healthy Smiles Ontario there as well.
Check out the link to the monthly calendar for the location closest to you. This is the link; Calendar
Because of the pandemic, the services have stopped, but I would keep checking back or call Ottawa Public Health to see if they plan on restarting their services.
This website will help with your search to help pay for your health services. There is a dental care dropdown. In this section, it goes over children and adult dental services.
The services are provided to those who have;
- ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/odsp/
- Ontario Works https://ottawadentalsociety.org/find-a-dentist/ and https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/ow/
- EHSS (Essential Health and Social Supports) https://ottawa.ca/en/family-and-social-services/older-adults/financial-assistance#essential-health-and-social-supports-ehss-program
- HSO (Healthy Smiles Ontario) for 17 years old and younger. https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-dental-care
- Dental care for low-income seniors
Urgent/emergency dental care – If you do NOT have a dentist
- Go online at Ottawa Dental Society or call 613-523-3876 to find a list of dentists
- Call the Ottawa Public Health Dental Information Line at 613-580-6744, ext. 23510
This is an initiative by Registered Dental Hygienists. You can go to this website and find the next date they are offering free dental hygiene services. Services include cleanings, polish, fluoride treatments, and possibly sealants if applicable.
Here is the link to their contact page to get in touch with them about the data and location for their next free dentistry day!
Free dental treatment by Dentists and Dental Hygienists. First come first served basis and you can choose between a filling, extraction or cleaning. Due to the high volume, I suggest getting there as early as possible as there are limited openings.
6. Free Yazdani
Same as Number 5. Choose between a filling, extraction or cleaning. Yazdani has two office locations, one in Kemptville and the other in Kanata.
7. Free Centrum
Same as Numbers 5 and 6. Choose between a filling, extraction or cleaning. The office is located in Kanata.
Due to the pandemic, this clinic has not done free dentistry days since 2019. But, hopefully, with the situation improving, they will resume the free dentistry day!
8. Villanova Free Dentistry Day
Due to the pandemic, this clinic has not done free dentistry days since 2019. But, hopefully, with the situation improving, they will resume the free dentistry day!
Algonquin College has a dental clinic located on the college campus. They offer basic dental work for a drastically reduced cost because it is students providing the services. You do trade your time for the less expensive treatment. You could be there for 2-3 separate appointments that last up to 2 hours.
The cost for cleaning is dependent on the degree of difficulty (depends on the amount of care required).
There are dentists on site that can do fillings and simple dental work (they are not students, and have been working for many years) and they work with the dental assisting program.
You can find their fee guide here Algonquin College Dental Clinic Price List
They offer X-rays, cleanings, sealants, mouth guards, teeth whitening treatments and simple restorative dentistry.
10. Canadian National Institute of Health Dental Clinic
CNIH (Canadian National Institute of Health) is a school that runs a dental hygiene program. Same as Algonquin College, they provide cheaper dental treatment for the trading of your time.
La Cité is again a school for a dental hygiene program. They are both French-speaking and English-speaking.
12. University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry and McGill Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences (Montreal)
The services provided are from dental students in school to become dentists. I would email them (the form is on the web pages I linked) and see if they are offering treatment at the time. They can reject certain cases so that is a risk if you are travelling from Ottawa.
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I really hope that this information helps you find dental treatment. Your mouth is the gateway to your whole body and keeping it healthy is very important.
Happy smiling,
Holly 🙂
