CODE Clinic Nanaimo: Low-Cost Dental Care on Wallace Street

On April 21, 2014, at a community dental clinic in Vancouver, B.C.'s social development minister Don McRae announced $96,000 for dental care for low-income children and adults. Most of it went out in equal amounts: $4,000 each to 19 not-for-profit clinics around the province. The remaining $20,000 went to the BC Dental Association's Save a Smile program, which pays for urgent care for children of low-income families without dental coverage. Of the 19 clinics, two were on Vancouver Island. One was Cool Aid Community Health Centre in Victoria; the other was CODE Dental Clinic in Nanaimo.

The amount was small, and the release said as much about the sector as about the grant. "These valuable services support patients in need and operate largely due to the dedication of volunteers," said Dr. David Ciriani, then president of the British Columbia Dental Association. The ministry said the clinics served children, seniors, First Nations, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and people on income and disability assistance. The same release noted that about 140,000 people on income and disability assistance received dental services each year, at a total cost of $55 million.

In 2026 the CODE clinic in Nanaimo is listed on Wallace Street, and its patients can now pay through the federal Canadian Dental Care Plan as well as provincial coverage.

What the CODE clinic is

CODE stands for Community Outreach Dental Endeavour. It is a non-profit dental clinic run by Connective Support Society, and the Pathways BC services directory describes its purpose as low-cost dental care for people who need immediate relief from untreated dental conditions. The work is mainly extractions and restorative procedures such as fillings, at reduced cost. The listing names four supporters: the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, the BC Dental Association, the BC Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

Two current listings agree on the building, 489 Wallace Street in downtown Nanaimo, and the phone number, 250-591-0771, but not on the suite. The City of Nanaimo's July 2026 health directory gives 201 - 489 Wallace Street; Pathways gives #101. They also describe payment differently. The city says patients are asked to make a donation for their treatment. Pathways says patients can pay by Interac, credit card, cash or ministry coverage, and that the clinic takes part in the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The listings do not explain the difference, and neither says the care is free.

The clinic works by appointment only, booked by phone or by email to [email protected], and the city directory advises calling or checking the website for hours. If you are booking for the first time, ask which suite to go to and how payment works for your coverage before you set out; the city lists bus routes 1, 5, 6, 20, 20A, 30, 40 and 72 as serving the address. Drivers pay at the meter: downtown street parking costs $1.25 an hour again since March 2, 2026.

Who pays for the treatment

For most of the clinic's patients, the money behind a filling or an extraction comes from one of two public programs.

The first is provincial. Everyone in British Columbia who receives income or disability assistance can get emergency dental services to relieve pain. Adults who qualify for general health supplements, receive disability assistance or are classed as having persistent multiple barriers also get basic dental coverage of up to $1,000 over two calendar years, with the period starting on January 1 of each odd-numbered year. Children under 19 in families on assistance get up to $2,000 over the same period, plus up to $1,000 a year for treatment in hospital under general anaesthetic. The ministry pays the dentist, denturist or hygienist directly, and its fee schedule sets the most it will pay, so a patient can still face a balance. Housing help runs through a separate system, in which tenants of BC Housing subsidized housing generally pay about 30 per cent of gross household income in rent.

The second is federal. The Canadian Dental Care Plan is open to people who have no access to private dental insurance, who have filed a Canadian tax return, who are Canadian residents for tax purposes and whose adjusted family net income is under $90,000. A health spending account that covers dental costs counts as insurance and rules a person out. Families under $70,000 pay no co-payment on covered services at the plan's fees; between $70,000 and $79,999 they pay 40 per cent, and between $80,000 and $89,999 they pay 60 per cent. The plan covers emergency exams, fillings, extractions and procedures to reduce infection and relieve pain, among much else. Orthodontic services are not available.

People on provincial assistance can qualify for both programs, and the federal government says the two coordinate so that a service is not paid twice.

Other low-cost dental care in Nanaimo

The CODE clinic is not the only option, though the others do different work. The figures below come from each provider's own page or from the City of Nanaimo's 2026 directory.

Where	What it does	What it costs
CODE Dental Clinic, 489 Wallace Street	Extractions and restorative work for people with untreated conditions; appointments only	Reduced fees or donation; card, cash, ministry coverage or CDCP
VIU Dental Clinic, 900 Fifth Street	Preventive care by supervised dental hygiene students: exams, X-rays, cleaning, fluoride, sealants	Adult screening free; treatment series $25 child, $35 youth, $55 new adult, $45 returning adult
Island Health public health, 1665 Grant Avenue	Dental Health Program among other public health services	Not listed in the directory

Vancouver Island University's clinic is a teaching clinic, and it says so plainly. Appointments run up to three hours, care is spread over several visits, and the clinic closes between semesters, from December to January and from June to August. It does not do fillings, extractions, crowns, root canals or emergency care. New clients ask for a screening appointment, and those accepted join a client pool from which the clinic matches each person with a student, based on the person's needs and the student's learning requirements. For a cracked molar or an abscess, it is the wrong door; for someone who has not had a cleaning in years and has time to spare, the fees are low, and the clinic accepts only Interac debit, Visa or Mastercard.

When a dental problem becomes a hospital matter

Island Health describes the emergency department at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, 1200 Dufferin Crescent, as open 24 hours a day for life-threatening or serious health concerns. A nurse assesses each patient on arrival and the most serious cases go first, so waits vary, and people whose condition is not an emergency may be encouraged to go to a same-day or urgent care clinic. In an emergency, Island Health's advice is to call 9-1-1. The same page points people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner to the provincial Health Connect Registry, which matches patients with a provider when one becomes available.

Nanaimo has two urgent and primary care centres, and the city's directory is careful about what they are. The Central Nanaimo centre at 3260 Norwell Drive is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, and the Medical Arts centre at 650 South Terminal Avenue from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Both book same-day appointments by phone, both handle the kind of care a family doctor's office would, and both are described as not emergency facilities. HealthLink BC, at 8-1-1, is the province's free health information and advice line.

Pressure on the Nanaimo emergency department

The hospital behind that emergency department has been short of room for years. In August 2023 Dr. Chris Rumball, an emergency physician with 47 years in the field, told CHLY that a contract dispute had cut the number of hospitalists at the hospital from 24 to 16, leaving admitted patients stuck in the emergency department. "We had 15 people on stretchers in hallways and a person in a closet," he said of one shift, and put average emergency waits at four to six hours. Island Health said nobody was left without care, that patients too sick to leave were treated in an acute care space beside the department, and that it was working with the Ministry of Health and the Health Employers Association of BC on an agreement with the hospitalists.

In May 2024, doctors went public again. Global News reported that the hospital, which it described as the busiest emergency department on the island, regularly treated more than 400 inpatients in a 345-bed building. Dr. David Forrest, head of infectious disease and critical care, said the hospital opened in 1963 with 200 beds and often ran at about 120 per cent of capacity, with closets and storage areas used for care. "These care spaces have no privacy, and thus no dignity for patients," he said.

Some relief arrived in pieces. A new 12-bed intensive care unit was due to take its first patients on June 28, 2023, replacing a 10-bed unit built in 1970 that an external review had called "by far the worst ICU we have seen in Canada", according to CTV. The project cost an estimated $41.6 million. A new high acuity unit was expected in summer 2024 at the time of that report; the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District says it opened to patients in August 2025.

Where the hospital plans stand in 2026

The bigger fix is still on paper. On March 24, 2026, the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District adopted a 2026 budget with a tax requisition of $49.5 million, including a 21 per cent tax increase over 2025, much of it to build reserves for its share of new projects. The district says the province committed in fall 2024 to a new patient tower and a cardiac catheterization lab at the hospital, and accepted its offer to pay for the concept plan for both. It has also offered to pay for the business plan and for building the catheterization lab. That requisition is set apart from council's own increase and reaches households through the Nanaimo property tax bill.

The Nanaimo Cancer Centre at the hospital began construction in 2025, with completion expected in 2028. For the patient tower, the district's March 2026 release lists only the province's commitment and the concept plan, with no construction date attached.

Questions

Is the CODE dental clinic in Nanaimo free?

No source describes it as free. The City of Nanaimo's directory says patients are asked to make a donation for their treatment, and a provincial services directory says fees are reduced and can be paid by card, cash, ministry coverage or the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Can I walk in to the CODE clinic?

The current listing says the clinic works by appointment only, booked by phone or email. Call 250-591-0771 or write to [email protected] before going to Wallace Street.

What does CODE stand for?

Community Outreach Dental Endeavour. The clinic is run by Connective Support Society, a non-profit, and lists support from the College of Dental Surgeons of BC, the BC Dental Association and two provincial ministries.

Does the CODE clinic take the Canadian Dental Care Plan?

Yes, according to the Pathways directory listing for the clinic. Under the federal plan, families with an adjusted net income under $70,000 pay no co-payment on covered services at the plan's set fees.

Who qualifies for the Canadian Dental Care Plan?

You must have no access to private dental insurance, have filed a Canadian tax return, be a Canadian resident for tax purposes, and have an adjusted family net income under $90,000. A spouse or common-law partner has to meet the tax conditions too.

Does income assistance in B.C. pay for an emergency dentist?

Yes. Everyone receiving income or disability assistance can get emergency dental services to relieve pain, and the ministry pays the dentist directly. Questions go to 1-866-866-0800.

Can the VIU dental clinic pull a tooth or fill a cavity?

No. Vancouver Island University's teaching clinic does preventive care such as exams, X-rays, cleaning, fluoride and sealants, and says it does not provide fillings, extractions, crowns, root canals or emergency care.

How much does the VIU dental clinic cost?

Screening for new adult clients is free. A full treatment series costs $25 for a child, $35 for a youth and $55 for a new adult client, or $45 for an adult treated there within the last three years.

Where is the emergency department in Nanaimo?

At Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, 1200 Dufferin Crescent, open 24 hours a day. The city's health directory lists bus route 30 to the hospital.

Is an urgent and primary care centre the same as an emergency room?

No. The City of Nanaimo's directory describes both Nanaimo centres as offering what a family doctor's office would, such as common illnesses and minor injuries, and states that they are not emergency facilities.

Is Nanaimo getting a new hospital tower?

The province committed to a new patient tower and a cardiac catheterization lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in fall 2024. As of March 2026 the projects were at the concept-plan stage, which the regional hospital district offered to pay for.