A new Canadian dental program offers hope of care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up to the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done so.

“I just thought my dentist would sign up. Why wouldn't he sign up? Alexandra Morton told CTV News Toronto.

“The benefits sound great, but why does it have to be with a participating provider? Why can't this be done with my own dentist? »

However, some associations representing dentists are concerned about the terms of the plan and claim that too many details have not been resolved.

“We haven't seen the details yet, and as we know, the devil is in the details,” said Dr. Brock Nicolucci, president of the Ontario Dental Associationsaid in an interview Monday.

Dentists also are concerned about the additional paperwork, fee structure and terms of the plan, Nicolucci said.

“We're trying to resolve this with the federal government, but again, these are concerns that we've raised and we're still not there,” he said.

Dr. Joel Antel, President of the Canadian Dental Associationechoed Nicolucci's similar concerns in a separate interview with CTV News Toronto.

“People come to the dental office and some think they're going to do whatever they want for free, but that's just not the case,” Antel said.

“To be honest,” he continued, “this is a very ambitious project that would normally take years to implement and the [government] try to do it in a few months. »

In January, federal Health Minister Mark Holland told CTV's Power Play that the Liberal government was working with dentists to address their concerns.

“They're not going to get everything they want and we're not going to get everything we want. That's the nature of negotiations,” Holland said.

As for Morton, she was told that if her dentist didn't participate in the program, she would have to find one who would, but she doesn't want to change.

“He has all my information and knows the work that's been done on my teeth. I don't want to change and that's my biggest problem,” Morton said.

The federal government has said dentists can provide services under the new dental plan without formally joining it. To find out who is eligible for the scheme, you can check the government website.