2026 CDA Environmental Scanning Report Now Available

Canadian dentistry is undergoing a period of significant change. The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), workforce shortages, economic pressures, demographic shifts, technological advances, and evolving patient expectations are reshaping how oral health care is delivered across the country. Understanding these trends is essential for planning, decision-making, and ensuring Canadians continue to receive high-quality oral health care.

To help the profession navigate this evolving environment, the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) regularly conducts environmental scans. These reports identify key trends, emerging issues, opportunities, and challenges that may affect dentistry and the broader oral health sector in the years ahead.

The 2026 CDA Environmental Scanning Report (English only) is now available to members. Download your copy here.

In the environmental scan, you’ll find:

• Political, economic, social, technological, health care, and dental trends shaping the future of oral health care in Canada;
• Key developments affecting access to care, workforce capacity, dental benefits, public policy, and oral health system delivery; and
• Research, data, analysis, and insights to support planning and evidence-informed decision-making.

Key Points:

The CDA Environmental Scan examines the broader environment, health system, and dental sector to provide a comprehensive overview of the factors shaping dentistry in Canada.

The 2026 report identifies several key trends expected to influence the profession over the next five to ten years, including the continued evolution of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), workforce shortages, affordability pressures, changing dental benefits, and increasing integration with the broader health care system.

The CDCP remains one of the most significant developments affecting dentistry in Canada, influencing access to care, service utilization, workforce demand, dental benefits, and the balance between public and private financing.

Workforce vacancies—particularly among dental hygienists and dental assistants—remain a significant challenge and continue to affect practice capacity, recruitment, retention, and access to care in many communities.

Advances in artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and data analytics are transforming practice operations, patient communications, and clinical care while creating new opportunities for efficiency and innovation.

Canada’s aging and increasingly diverse population is creating new oral health care needs and highlighting the importance of prevention, accessibility, and innovative models of care for seniors and other underserved populations.

As oral health becomes more closely connected to broader health care priorities, dentistry is increasingly being viewed as part of a larger health system focused on access, accountability, integration, and improved health outcomes.