Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 8, 2026
Last Updated: September 15, 2026

De Rose Orthodontics (“De Rose Orthodontics,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information and personal health information entrusted to us.

As an Ontario health-care practice, we handle personal health information in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (“PHIPA”), its regulations, and applicable professional and regulatory requirements.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, store, protect, retain, and dispose of personal information and personal health information. It also explains your privacy rights, how consent is managed, and how you may contact us with questions, requests, or complaints.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on your interaction with De Rose Orthodontics, we may collect personal information and personal health information including:

Name
Mailing and residential address
Email address
Telephone or mobile phone number
Date of birth
Parent, guardian, or substitute decision-maker information where applicable
Emergency contact information
Appointment and scheduling information
Health history and relevant medical and dental information
Orthodontic and dental records
Clinical notes and treatment information
Photographs, radiographs, scans, digital models, and other diagnostic records
Treatment plans and progress information
Referral information
Insurance, billing, payment, and financial information
Information submitted through contact, consultation, referral, intake, or appointment request forms
Communications you send to or receive from our office
Mobile messaging consent and communication preferences
Other information reasonably necessary to provide orthodontic care or operate our practice

We may collect information directly from you or, where permitted or required by law, from other sources such as a parent, guardian or substitute decision-maker, referring dentist, physician, dental specialist, other health-care provider, dental or medical laboratory, imaging provider, insurer, or other person or organization involved in your care.

Information may be collected through paper forms, electronic forms, our website, telephone calls, email, SMS/text messaging, practice-management and clinical software, diagnostic equipment, digital applications, in-person interactions, and communications with other health-care providers. When you use our website, certain technical information may also be collected automatically, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referring website, and general website usage information. Cookies and similar technologies may be used to support website functionality, analytics, and permitted marketing activities.

2. Why We Collect and Use Information

We collect and use personal information and personal health information for purposes reasonably connected with providing and administering orthodontic care and operating our practice, including to:

Identify patients and maintain accurate patient records
Assess orthodontic needs and provide consultations
Diagnose, plan, provide, monitor, and evaluate orthodontic treatment
Coordinate treatment with dentists, dental specialists, physicians, laboratories, imaging providers, and other health-care professionals
Process referrals and requests for information
Respond to inquiries and consultation requests
Schedule, confirm, modify, and remind patients of appointments
Communicate with patients, parents, guardians, or authorized representatives regarding care
Maintain clinical, diagnostic, and treatment records
Process billing, insurance claims, payments, refunds, and other financial transactions
Conduct quality assurance, risk management, and practice improvement activities
Manage our operations and administrative requirements
Meet legal, regulatory, professional, recordkeeping, and security obligations
Investigate and respond to privacy or security incidents
Prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorized activity
Send SMS/text communications where appropriate consent has been obtained
Send promotional or marketing communications where permitted by law and where any required consent has been obtained
Improve our website, services, communications, and patient experience

We will not collect, use, or disclose personal health information if other information will serve the purpose, and we seek to limit the amount of personal health information collected, used, or disclosed to what is reasonably necessary for the applicable purpose, subject to applicable law.

3. Consent

De Rose Orthodontics obtains and relies upon consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal health information as required by PHIPA and other applicable laws. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, consent may be express or implied.

For purposes directly related to providing health care, we may in appropriate circumstances rely on implied consent to collect, use, or disclose personal health information within a patient's circle of care, provided the applicable legal requirements are satisfied.

Express consent may be required in other circumstances, including certain disclosures outside the circle of care and certain uses or disclosures for marketing or other purposes not directly related to providing health care.

You may generally withdraw or limit your consent, subject to legal, professional, contractual, and practical restrictions and reasonable notice. A withdrawal of consent does not apply retroactively to information that has already been collected, used, or disclosed in accordance with applicable law. You may also request restrictions on access to or disclosure of certain personal health information. Such requests will be handled in accordance with PHIPA, including any applicable exceptions or legal requirements. There may also be circumstances in which we are permitted or required by law to collect, use, or disclose information without consent.

4. Minors, Capacity, and Substitute Decision-Makers

Orthodontic services are frequently provided to minors. Consent and privacy decisions concerning a minor patient are handled in accordance with applicable Ontario law and are based on the individual's legal capacity to make the particular decision rather than age alone where applicable. Where a patient does not have the legal capacity to provide the required consent, an authorized substitute decision-maker may make decisions on the patient's behalf in accordance with applicable law. Information may therefore be collected from or disclosed to a parent, guardian, or other legally authorized substitute decision-maker where appropriate and permitted by law.

5. Disclosure and Sharing of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information or personal health information when authorized or permitted by the individual or when otherwise permitted or required by law.

Depending on the circumstances, recipients may include:

Dentists, physicians, orthodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and other health-care providers involved in your care
Dental and orthodontic laboratories
Diagnostic and imaging providers
Insurance companies and benefits administrators where authorized
Payment processors and financial service providers
Technology, software, hosting, communications, records-management, and other service providers acting on our behalf
Professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants, or consultants where appropriate
Government agencies, regulators, public health authorities, law-enforcement agencies, courts, or other authorities where disclosure is permitted or required by law
Other persons or organizations where you have provided the necessary consent

Service providers that process information on our behalf are expected to use it only as necessary to provide the applicable services and to maintain appropriate confidentiality and privacy protections. We do not sell personal health information.

6. SMS and Mobile Information

If you provide your mobile telephone number and consent to receive text messages from De Rose Orthodontics, we may use your mobile number to communicate with you regarding appointments, inquiries, orthodontic services, office information, and promotional or marketing communications consistent with your consent. Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. De Rose Orthodontics does not sell, share, or rent mobile information, including mobile telephone numbers and SMS consent information, to third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes.

Information may be provided to service providers that assist us in delivering communications or operating our services solely as necessary to provide those services on our behalf and subject to appropriate confidentiality and privacy obligations. SMS opt-in consent and mobile messaging information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes. Consent to receive marketing text messages is not a condition of purchasing goods or services from De Rose Orthodontics.

You may opt out of marketing SMS communications at any time by replying STOP. You may reply HELP for assistance.

7. Marketing Communications

We may send promotional or marketing communications only where permitted by applicable law and where any required consent has been obtained. You may unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe mechanism included in those communications. For SMS marketing communications, you may opt out by replying STOP. Withdrawing consent to marketing does not necessarily prevent De Rose Orthodontics from contacting you about existing appointments, ongoing treatment, payments, transactions, patient safety, or other communications that we are permitted or required to send. Personal health information will not be collected, used, or disclosed for marketing purposes except with the consent required by applicable law.

8. Cookies and Website Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, remember preferences, understand website usage, improve functionality, and support analytics or advertising where permitted. You may be able to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality. Our website may also contain links to independently operated third-party websites or services. Those organizations have their own privacy practices and policies. De Rose Orthodontics is not responsible for the privacy practices of independently operated third parties.

9. How We Protect Information

De Rose Orthodontics uses reasonable physical, administrative, organizational, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information and personal health information against theft, loss, unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure, or disposal.

Depending on the nature of the information and system involved, safeguards may include:

Access controls and user authentication
Password-protected systems
Role-based or need-to-know access to patient information
Secure clinical and practice-management systems
Physical safeguards for areas and records containing patient information
Confidentiality requirements for team members and service providers
Privacy and security policies and procedures
Staff privacy and security education
Appropriate backup and security measures
Procedures for responding to suspected privacy and security incidents

No electronic system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We nevertheless take reasonable steps appropriate to the sensitivity of the information to safeguard information under our control.

10. Storage, Retention, and Secure Disposal

Personal information and personal health information may be stored electronically or physically using systems and facilities operated by De Rose Orthodontics or service providers acting on our behalf. We retain patient and business information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide care and fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to meet applicable legal, regulatory, professional, insurance, and record-retention requirements. When records are eligible for destruction and no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy, delete, or otherwise dispose of the information in a manner appropriate to its sensitivity and the medium in which it is stored.

11. Access to Your Health Record

Subject to limited exceptions under applicable law, patients have the right to request access to personal health information about themselves that is held by De Rose Orthodontics. You may request access to your record by contacting our office using the information provided below. We may need to verify your identity or authority before providing access. Requests will be processed in accordance with applicable law, and reasonable fees may apply where legally permitted. There are limited circumstances in which access may be restricted or refused as permitted or required by law.

12. Correction of Personal Health Information

If you believe that personal health information in your record is inaccurate or incomplete, you may request that De Rose Orthodontics correct the record. We will consider and respond to correction requests in accordance with PHIPA and other applicable legal and professional requirements. Certain information, including professional opinions or observations made in good faith, may not be subject to correction in the same manner as factual information.

13. Privacy Incidents and Breaches

De Rose Orthodontics maintains procedures for responding to suspected or confirmed privacy incidents involving personal information or personal health information. If information is lost, stolen, accessed, used, disclosed, copied, modified, or disposed of without authorization, we will take reasonable steps to:

Contain and investigate the incident
Mitigate potential harm
Address the cause of the incident
Take steps designed to reduce the risk of recurrence
Notify affected individuals where required
Notify the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) and/or other applicable authorities where notification or reporting is required by law

14. Privacy Training, Monitoring, and Compliance

De Rose Orthodontics is committed to maintaining an appropriate privacy management program. Team members and others who handle personal health information on behalf of the practice are expected to comply with applicable privacy requirements and practice policies. We may provide privacy and security education, monitor compliance, review privacy and security practices, and conduct periodic assessments or audits where appropriate. Failure by team members or service providers to comply with applicable privacy and confidentiality requirements may result in appropriate corrective action. Our privacy practices and policies may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in applicable laws, regulatory guidance, technology, practice operations, identified risks, audit findings, and evolving privacy and security practices.

15. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

Ask how and why your personal information or personal health information is collected, used, or disclosed
Request access to personal health information held about you
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal health information
Withdraw consent where the collection, use, or disclosure is based on consent, subject to applicable limitations
Request certain restrictions on the use or disclosure of your personal health information
Opt out of marketing communications
Ask questions or raise concerns about our privacy practices
Make a privacy complaint to De Rose Orthodontics
Make a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario where applicable

Some information must be retained despite a request for deletion, withdrawal of consent, or other request because of health-care recordkeeping requirements or other legal, regulatory, professional, contractual, or legitimate requirements.

16. Privacy Questions, Requests, and Complaints

If you have a question about our privacy practices, wish to request access to or correction of your personal health information, wish to raise a privacy concern, or believe your information has been handled improperly, please contact our Privacy Officer. We will review and respond to privacy inquiries and complaints in accordance with applicable law and our privacy procedures. If you are not satisfied with our response, or otherwise wish to make a complaint concerning the handling of your personal health information, you may have the right to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC). Information about the IPC and its privacy complaint process is available from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to our clinical or business practices, technology, service providers, legal or regulatory requirements, privacy and security assessments, or evolving best practices. When this Privacy Policy is updated, the revised version will be made available through our website and the “Last Updated” date will be changed accordingly.

18. Contact Us / Privacy Officer

For privacy questions, requests, concerns, or complaints, please contact:

Privacy Officer
De Rose Orthodontics
Website: deroseortho.com
Email: info@deroseortho.com