Privacy policy
Who we are
Chief Dental is a dental practice in Squamish, British Columbia. We are responsible for the personal information we collect about our patients and about people who contact us or enquire about treatment. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what you can ask us to do with it.
We handle personal information in accordance with the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act, and with the standards of the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals.
What we collect
Contact details. Your name, phone number, email address and postal address.
Health information. Your dental and medical history, clinical notes, x-rays, images, treatment plans and the record of care we provide.
Billing information. Your dental insurance details, payment records and billing history.
Enquiry information. What you told us you were interested in, when you were hoping to come in, and how you found us.
Website and advertising information. Pages viewed on our website, the device and browser you used, and general location. This is collected through cookies and similar technologies.
How we collect it
We collect information directly from you when you book an appointment, complete a form in the practice, call us, email us, use the booking system on our website, or submit an enquiry form on Facebook or Instagram.
We also collect information automatically when you visit our website, through cookies and similar technologies, as described further below. In some cases we receive information from a third party with your consent, for example from another dental or medical professional who refers you to us, or from your insurer.
Why we collect it
to provide dental care, and to plan, deliver and record your treatment
to contact you about appointments, recalls and follow up
to answer an enquiry you have made and to arrange a consultation
to process payment and to submit and administer insurance claims
to meet our professional, regulatory and legal obligations, including record keeping requirements
to understand how our website and our advertising are working, and to reach people who may be interested in our services
Consent
We collect, use and disclose your personal information with your consent, unless the law permits or requires us to do otherwise. In most cases your consent is express, for example when you complete a form or sign a treatment plan. In some cases consent is implied by the circumstances, for example where you give us your phone number so that we can call you back about an appointment.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. If you withdraw consent for us to use your information, we may no longer be able to provide certain services to you. Withdrawing consent does not require us to delete clinical records that we are required to retain.
Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only where it is necessary, and only with the following.
Our own team. The dentists, hygienists, assistants and administrative staff involved in your care.
Other health professionals. Specialists, laboratories, imaging services and other providers involved in your treatment.
Service providers. The companies that run our online booking system, our patient management software, our customer relationship and messaging tools, our email, and our website hosting. They may only use the information to provide the service to us.
Insurers and payment processors. Where you have used a dental plan, so that a claim can be assessed and paid.
Advertising platforms. Advertising and analytics platforms, in the limited way described in the next section.
Legal and regulatory. Where we are required or permitted to do so by law, by a court, or by our regulator.
Advertising, social media and our website
We advertise our services on platforms including Facebook and Instagram, which are operated by Meta, and we use tools that measure how our website and our advertising perform.
Enquiry forms on social media. If you submit an enquiry form on Facebook or Instagram, the details you provide, which are usually your name, phone number and email address, are passed to us by Meta so that we can contact you about your enquiry. Meta also handles that information under its own privacy policy.
Cookies and website measurement. Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, including a Meta pixel. These record actions such as pages viewed and forms submitted. We use them to understand which of our advertising is working and to show relevant advertising to people who have visited our website.
Audiences. We may share limited information, such as an email address in a scrambled form, with advertising platforms so that they can show our advertising to people already known to us, or to people with similar interests. This is not used to identify you to anyone else.
You can control cookies through your browser settings, and you can control how advertising is personalised to you in the ad settings of the platform concerned. If you would prefer we did not include your information in advertising audiences, contact us and we will remove it.
How long we keep it
We keep clinical records for the period required by the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals and by applicable law, which is longer than the periods below and, in the case of a patient who was a minor, runs from the date they reach the age of majority.
Where someone makes an enquiry and does not go on to become a patient, we keep the enquiry for twelve months and then delete it, unless they have asked us to stay in touch.
Billing and insurance records are kept for as long as required for tax and audit purposes.
Where it is stored
Some of the service providers we use store information on servers outside Canada, including in the United States. Where that is the case, the information may be accessible to the courts and law enforcement agencies of that country under its laws. We choose providers that offer appropriate protection, and we require them to use the information only to provide the service to us.
How we protect it
We use physical, organisational and technical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. These include locked storage for paper records, access controls and passwords on our systems, encryption where it is available, and limiting access to those members of the team who need it to do their job. Our team is trained on their obligation to keep patient information confidential.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We ask that you do not send us detailed health information by email or through social media, and use the phone or the practice instead.
Your rights
Access. You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and for an explanation of how it has been used and who it has been shared with. We will respond within thirty days. In limited cases the law allows or requires us to withhold information, and if that happens we will tell you why.
Correction. If you believe something we hold is inaccurate or incomplete, tell us and we will correct it. Clinical records cannot be erased, but a correction or an annotation can be added.
Withdrawing consent. You can ask us to stop contacting you for marketing or recall purposes at any time, and every marketing email we send has an unsubscribe link.
How to contact us
If you have a question about this policy, or you want to make a request about your information, contact our privacy officer.
Dr. Debra Matson, Privacy Officer
Chief Dental
38115 Laurelwood Rd #107, Squamish, BC V8B 1A8
Phone (778) 906-5665
Email hello@chief.dental
If you are not satisfied
If we have not resolved your concern, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia. You can reach them at oipc.bc.ca, by phone on 250 387-5629, or by writing to PO Box 9038, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9A4.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make a significant change to how we handle personal information, we will make that clear on this page.