Each year the Ontario Dental Association (ODA) adjusts the fee guide that most dentists base their charges on (not dentists or specialists – which are separate). These suggested increases in cost are an average of services provided and take into account changes in overhead, labour and materials.
On top of this “inflation” portion of costs, insurers also add trend and utilization to create the actual increases you see on your renewal. The projection for future costs (in the coming year) are made up of…
- Inflation – the ODA fee guide adjustment (how much the cost to deliver treatment is increasing)
- Trend – this is how we use more of services over time (e.g.our grandparents went as needed, our parents once a year, we go every 6 months, our kids might go every quarter)
- Utilization – this is how we use more of the services (e.g. we used to use a unit of scaling (15 minutes) every 6 months, but now use 2 or 3)
Of course the claims by your organization also have an effect on rates and usage that is higher then the norm will increase costs more quickly.
From the ODA: 2026 Suggested Fee Guide for General PractitionersFor 2026
The overall weighted average change based on the frequency of procedures occurring in the average Ontario general-dental practice is 3.32 per cent. Changes are based on a weighted average based on the frequency of procedures occurring in the average Ontario general dental practice.