Application Criteria

Before your application is reviewed by a Regional Committee, our staff will check to ensure it is complete. The online application is a step-by-step process that must be fully completed, with all 'documents' upoaded in order to be submitted for consideration. Incomplete applications will not be considered by a Regional Committee.

For complete applications, the first assessment criteria is financial eligibility. We use the Federal Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO), as published by Statistics Canada, to do this. Financial eligibility depends on family size and the type of area in which you live – the more urban the area, the higher the LICO. The LICO criteria is used as a guideline; if you do not meet this criterion threshold, please submit additional information pertinent to your financial situation with your application. The most recent criteria are in the table below:

Size of family unit COMMUNITY SIZE Rural areas

outside CMA or CA Census Agglomeration (CA) Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) Less than 30,000

inhabitants

(small towns) 30,000 to 99,999

inhabitants

(larger towns) 100,000 to 499,999

inhabitants

(small cities) Over 500,000

inhabitants

(larger cities) 2017 After-tax family income 1 person 13,782 15,772 17,595 17,817 21,068 2 persons 16,774 19,198 21,415 21,685 25,641 3 persons 20,887 23,903 26,666 27,002 31,929 4 persons 26,057 29,822 33,269 33,688 39,835 5 persons 29,672 33,959 37,884 38,361 45,360 6 persons 32,908 37,661 42,015 42,543 50,305 7 or more persons 36,143 41,364 46,144 46,725 55,250 2018 After-tax family income 1 person 14,099 16,135 18,000 18,277 21,533 2 persons 17,160 19,640 21,908 22,184 26,231 3 persons 21,367 24,453 27,279 27,623 32,663 4 persons 26,565 30,508 34,034 34,463 40,751 5 persons 30,354 34,740 38,755 39,243 46,403 6 persons 33,665 38,257 42,981 43,521 51,462 7 or more persons 36,974 42,315 47,205 47,800 56,521

Next, we look at the Personal Statement and Personal Reference. These assist us in assessing how likely your child is to maintain the treatment. We want the orthodontic treatment to succeed, and your child’s motivation and commitment to maintaining good dental health throughout his/her treatment will be very important.

Finally, we consider the digital photos and the Dental Examination Form you submitted as part of the application. These help us determine your child’s need for orthodontic treatment and overall dental health. As you can appreciate, many people want to participate in Smiles 4 Canada, and our aim is to help those who can benefit most, or who have the most to gain, from the treatment.

Based on our overall assessment of this material, the Regional Committee will determine if the applicant can be treated through the program. We will then identify a participating orthodontist who will meet your child to discuss the potential orthodontic treatment plans. If you agree to a treatment plan, you will be asked to submit a $500 administrative fee to Smiles 4 Canada. This fee must be paid before treatment can begin.

Key 2020 Program Dates (estimated):

MILESTONE KEY DATE Application window opens January 20, 2020 Application window closes April 30, 20201 Decisions letters sent October 8 & 9, 2020 Initial consultations with orthodontists October 22-November 22, 2020 Deadline to submit administration fee November 27, 20202 Treatment start (earliest date) November 30, 2020