Privacy policy

For questions about personal information held by EA Dental Specialists, contact the practice team at 177 Field End Road, Pinner, HA5 1QR. Ask for your enquiry to be directed to the person responsible for data protection.

Please use a general enquiry initially. Avoid sending detailed medical information or identity documents through ordinary email or social messaging unless the practice has explained an appropriate way to provide them.

The information needed depends on your enquiry, care or relationship with the practice. Clinical records may be kept on paper or computer. Information may come from you, a parent or authorised representative, relatives where appropriate, or a professional involved in your care.

Information is used to respond to enquiries, arrange appointments, assess needs, provide dental care and maintain appropriate clinical records. It also supports payments, practice administration, quality review and the handling of concerns or complaints.

Depending on the activity, data protection grounds may include taking steps at your request or fulfilling an agreement, meeting legal duties, legitimate practice administration interests, or your consent. Health information has additional protection: its use for care must also meet an applicable condition for health or social care and professional confidentiality.

Consent to dental treatment and consent as a data protection basis are different matters. You can ask the practice which grounds apply to a particular use of your information. Where a use relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent without affecting the lawfulness of earlier use.

The practice's published policy describes occasional communications about services, offers and oral health information. You can ask the practice to stop marketing communications or use an unsubscribe option where provided. This does not prevent necessary communications about your appointments or care.

Please tell reception when your contact details or other relevant information change, so the practice can keep its records accurate.

When you submit a website enquiry, the contact details, message or treatment choice you provide are emailed to the practice so the team can respond. The Contact form also records your optional marketing preference separately from your enquiry. A new-patient registration request also sends the title, date of birth, address, registration preference and treatment interests you provide. The form service does not add campaign attribution, IP addresses or location details to the enquiry email, and it does not store a separate website database of enquiries. An enquiry is not a confirmed appointment; call reception for urgent concerns or booking changes.

The website does not currently include analytics or advertising trackers. Its photographs and films are served as website assets. Routine technical request information, such as an IP address, browser details or security logs, may be processed by hosting infrastructure to deliver and protect the site.

The optional Google map is loaded only when you choose to allow it. Booking, directions, WhatsApp and social links open services operated outside this website. Their operators' privacy information applies when you use them.

Relevant information may be shared with dental or healthcare professionals involved in treatment, referral providers, laboratories and service providers supporting practice operations. Disclosure may also be necessary to meet legal obligations, handle professional or regulatory matters, or protect against fraud.

The practice's published policy also describes disclosure connected with a business transfer or asset sale, enforcing agreements, and protecting the rights or property of the practice and others. Any disclosure must have an appropriate purpose and meet the applicable requirements.

Practice staff have a duty of confidentiality. Information shared with other professionals or organisations should remain subject to the relevant confidentiality and data protection requirements. If you want to know who receives your information, whether a provider acts outside the UK, or what protections apply to a particular service, ask the practice for details.

Clinical and administrative records are kept for the period required for their purpose, taking account of professional record-keeping requirements, legal duties and the need to deal with claims or complaints. Different types of information may have different retention periods.

You can ask the practice for the retention period or criteria that apply to your records. A request to erase information does not always mean that a clinical record can be deleted immediately.

Depending on the circumstances and the basis for processing, UK data protection law gives you rights over your personal information. These rights are subject to conditions and exemptions; the practice should explain if a request cannot be met.

Contact the practice to make a request or raise a privacy concern. Include enough information to identify the matter; identity or authority checks may be necessary before personal records are released.

A subject access request is normally free and should usually be answered within one month. The law allows extensions or charges in limited circumstances, which should be explained if they apply.

If you remain unhappy, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). You do not need to wait for permission from the practice to contact the regulator.

This notice should be reviewed when website features or practice information-handling arrangements change. Ask reception if you need a copy in another format or clarification about a particular use of your information.