Privacy

Privacy Policy for Floss Dental Limited

In providing your dental care and treatment, we will ask for information about you and your health. Occasionally, we may receive information from other providers who have been involved in your care. This privacy notice describes the type of personal information we hold, why we hold it, and what we do with it.

Information That We Collect

Information we may collect online:

Personal details such as your name, email address, and telephone number.

Information we may collect during your visit:

Personal details such as your name, date of birth, National Insurance number, NHS number, address, telephone number, and email address.
Information about your dental and general health, including:
- Clinical records made by dentists and other dental professionals involved in your care and treatment
- X-rays, clinical photographs, digital scans of your mouth and teeth, and study models
- Medical and dental histories
- Treatment plans and consent forms
- Notes of conversations with you about your care
- Dates of your appointments
- Details of any complaints you have made and how these complaints were dealt with
- Correspondence with other health professionals or institutions
- Details of the fees we have charged, amounts paid, and some payment details

Dr Diana Ferati is responsible for keeping secure the information we hold about you.

Our Data Protection Officer, Mrs Helen Osborne, ensures that the practice complies with data protection requirements so that we collect, use, store, and dispose of your information responsibly.

Those at the practice who have access to your information include dentists and other dental professionals involved in your care and treatment, as well as reception staff responsible for the management and administration of the practice.

How We Use Your Information

To provide you with the dental care and treatment you need, we require up-to-date and accurate information about you.

We will share your information with Simply Health (Denplan) and the NHS for those child patients registered under NHS arrangements, in connection with your dental treatment.

We will ask for your preferred method of communication regarding your care. Our usual methods include telephone, email, or letter.

If we wish to use your information for dental research or dental education, we will discuss this with you and seek your consent. Where possible, we will anonymise your information. If anonymisation is not possible, we will inform you and discuss your options.

Sharing Information

Your information is normally only used by those working at the practice. However, there may be instances where we need to share it—for example, with:

Your doctor
Hospitals, community dental services, or other health professionals (including referring practices) caring for you
NHS payment authorities
The Department for Work and Pensions (and its agencies) where you claim exemption or remission from NHS charges
Private dental schemes of which you are a member

We will only disclose the minimum information necessary and always on a need-to-know basis.

In certain circumstances, or where required by law, we may need to disclose your information to third parties not connected with your healthcare—including HMRC, law enforcement, or government agencies.

Keeping Your Information Safe

We store your personal information securely on our practice computer system and in a manual filing system. Only those working at the practice can access your information. All staff understand their legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality and follow our procedures to ensure this.

We take precautions to ensure the security of the practice premises, filing systems, and computers.

We use high-quality specialist dental software to record and manage your information safely and effectively. Our computer system has a secure audit trail, and we routinely back up information.

We keep your records for 11 years after the date of your last visit to the practice, or until you reach the age of 25, whichever is longer.

Access to Your Information and Other Rights

You have the right to access the information we hold about you and to receive a copy. Requests should be submitted in writing or via email. We do not usually charge for providing this information; if a charge applies, we will explain the reason.

You may also request that we:

Correct any information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. If we have shared incorrect information with a third party, we will inform them of the correction.
Erase information we hold (although legal requirements may prevent us from deleting certain records, e.g., details of dental treatment).
Stop using your information—for example, to stop appointment reminders or service updates.
Supply your information electronically to another dentist.

If You Do Not Agree

If you do not wish us to use your personal information as described, you should discuss this with your dentist. If you object to how we collect or use your information, we may be unable to continue providing your dental care.

If you have concerns about how we use your information and do not feel able to discuss them with the practice, you may contact:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Wycliffe House, Water Lane

Wilmslow, Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745