The Ontario NDP is promising free or low-cost dental care for all low- and middle-income families if elected next month.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says people should not have to worry about how much a necessary dental procedure will cost.
The party says Ontario households earning less than $90,000 would pay nothing and households with incomes of between $90,000 and $200,000 would co-pay on a sliding scale that goes no higher than half of the bill.
The NDP says the plan would save a family of four $1,240 a year on basic check-ups and filling a cavity, and if both kids need braces, the plan could save them more than $13,000.
The party says the plan would be in place before promised federal dental coverage is fully developed, and once the national program is up and running, the provincial plan would ``mesh'' with it.
An NDP government would invest $680 million this year to pay for their plan and once full, annualized funding flows from the federal government, the Ontario NDP would maintain its program with $380 million a year.