Privacy Policy
Pearly Smile Dental Studio
Privacy Policy
We are glad to provide you with excellent dental services while also respecting your privacy. This notice discloses the privacy practices for information collected by this website, including:
-what personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared;
-how you can ensure the accuracy of the information;
-our security procedures designed to protect the misuse of your information; and
-your options regarding the use of your data.
COLLECTION, USE, AND SHARING OF INFORMATION
Our website permits us to access information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We are the sole owners of such information collected on this site; we do not sell or rent this information to anyone.
We use your information to respond to your inquiries and requests, primarily to ensure we are meeting your expectations for dental services. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as
necessary to fulfill your requests and to provide you with outstanding care.
We may occasionally contact you via email to notify you of specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy (unless, of course, you direct us not to).
YOUR ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OVER INFORMATION
You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. By using the contact form on our website, you can:
-request a description of the information we have about you, if any;
-correct any inaccurate information;
-direct us to delete information related to you;
-and share any concern you have about our use of information.
KEEPING YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION SECURE
In an abundance of caution, we suggest that you not use our contact form to email us confidential information. While we will not disclose such information to anyone beyond those necessary to facilitate our care of you, such information could possibly be intercepted in transit by unauthorized entities.
DENTIST-APPROVED COOKIES
While it may seem funny, our dental website uses “cookies.” A cookie is a piece of data stored on a site visitor’s computer or device to improve access to our site and to identify you as a repeat visitor. For example, cookies eliminate the need for you to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable us to remember the interests of our patients to enhance their experience on our site. So our cookies are safe for your teeth and help us serve you better! Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information on our site.
LINKS
We have linked our website to other sites that may be of help or interest to you. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. Please be aware when leaving our site and read the other sites’ privacy statements to determine to what extent they collect or use personally identifiable information. We invite you to contact us if you feel that we can better implement this privacy policy.
Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. Care or Payment for Your Care
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information, to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect February 16, 2026 and will remain in effect until we replace it.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law, and to make new Notice provisions effective for all protected health information that we maintain. When we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and post the new Notice clearly and prominently at our practice location, and we will provide copies of the new Notice upon request.
You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
We may use and disclose your health information for different purposes, including treatment, payment, and health care operations. For each of these categories, we have provided a description and an example. Some information, such as HIV-related information, genetic information, alcohol and/or substance use disorder treatment records, and mental health records may be entitled to special confidentiality protections under applicable state or federal law. We will abide
by these special protections as they pertain to applicable cases involving these types of records.
Treatment. We may use and disclose your health information for your treatment. For example, we may disclose your health information to a specialist providing treatment to you.
Payment. We may use and disclose your health information to obtain reimbursement for the treatment and services you receive from us or another entity involved with your care. Payment activities include billing, collections, claims management, and determinations of eligibility and coverage to obtain payment from you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may send claims to your dental health plan containing certain health information.
Healthcare Operations. We may use and disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations. For example, healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, conducting training programs, and licensing activities.
Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may disclose your health information to your family or friends or any other individual identified by you when they participate in your care or in the payment for your care. Additionally, we may disclose information about you to a patient representative. If a person has the authority by law to make health care decisions for you, we will treat that patient representative the same way we would treat you with respect to your health information.
Disaster Relief. We may use or disclose your health information to assist in disaster relief efforts.
Required by Law. We may use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.
Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information for public health activities, including disclosures to:
- Prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
- Report child abuse or neglect;
- Report reactions to medications or problems with products or devices;
- Notify a person of a recall, repair, or replacement of products or devices;
- Notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or condition; or
- Notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic
National Security. We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody the protected health information of an inmate or patient.
Secretary of HHS. We will disclose your health information to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services when required to investigate or determine compliance with HIPAA.
Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose your PHI to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation or other similar programs established by law.
Law Enforcement. We may disclose your PHI for law enforcement purposes as permitted by HIPAA, as required by law, or in response to a subpoena or court order.
Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your PHI to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These
oversight activities include audits, investigations, inspections, and credentialing, as necessary for licensure and for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process instituted by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made, either by the requesting party or us, to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Research. We may disclose your PHI to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board
or privacy board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. We may release your PHI to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or
determine the cause of death. We may also disclose PHI to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to enable them to perform their duties.
Fundraising. We may contact you to provide you with information about our sponsored activities, including fundraising programs,
as permitted by applicable law. If you do not wish to receive such information from us, you may opt out of receiving the communications.
ADA PRACTICAL GUIDE TO HIPAA COMPLIANCE
SUD Treatment Information. If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR Part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment and health care operations purposes as described in this Notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program record through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us.
In no event will we use or disclose your Part 2 Program record, or testimony that describes the information contained in your Part 2 Program record, in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings by any Federal, State, or local authority, against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.
OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI
Your authorization is required, with a few exceptions, for disclosure of psychotherapy notes, use or disclosure of PHI for marketing, and for the sale of PHI. We will also obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for purposes other than those provided for in this Notice (or as otherwise permitted or required by law). You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Upon receipt of the written revocation, we will stop using or disclosing your PHI, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance on the authorization.
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS
Access. You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. You must make the request in writing. You may obtain a form to request access by using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this Notice. If you request information that we maintain on paper, we may provide photocopies. If you request information that we maintain electronically, you have the right to an electronic copy. We will use the form and format you request if readily producible. We will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for the cost of supplies and labor of copying, and for postage if you want copies mailed to you. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice for an explanation of our fee structure.
If you are denied a request for access, you have the right to have the denial reviewed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law.
Disclosure Accounting. With the exception of certain disclosures, you have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of
your health information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. To request an accounting of disclosures of your health information, you must submit your request in writing to the
Privacy Official. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee
Right to Request a Restriction. You have the right to request additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI by submitting a written request to the Privacy Official. Your written request must include (1) what information you want to limit, (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both, and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply. We are not required to agree to your request except in the case where the disclosure is to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations, and the information pertains solely to a health care item or service for which you, or a person on your behalf (other than the health plan), has paid our practice in full.
Alternative Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. You must make your
request in writing. Your request must specify the alternative means or location, and provide satisfactory explanation of how payments will be handled under the alternative means or location you request.
We will accommodate all reasonable requests. However, if we are unable to contact you using the ways or locations you have requested, we may contact you using the information we have.
Amendment. You have the right to request that we amend your health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request under certain circumstances. If we agree to your request, we will amend your record(s) and notify you of such. If we deny your request for an amendment, we will provide you with a written explanation of why we denied it and explain your rights.
Right to Notification of a Breach. You will receive notifications of breaches of your unsecured protected health information as required by law.
Electronic Notice. You may receive a paper copy of this Notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically on our Web site or by electronic mail (e-mail).
QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us.
If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or if you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information or to have us communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations, you may complain to us using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. You also may submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request.
We support your right to the privacy of your health information.
We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PRIVACY OFFICIAL NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION:
Privacy Official Name: Telephone: Fax: Address: Email:
This material is educational only, does not constitute legal advice, and covers only federal, not state, law. Changes in applicable laws or regulations may require revision. Dentists should contact their personal attorneys for legal advice pertaining to HIPAA compliance, the HITECH Act, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rules and regulations.
Reproduction of this material by dentists and their staff is permitted. Any other use, duplication or distribution by any other party requires the prior written approval of the American Dental Association. This material is educational only, does not constitute legal advice, and covers only federal, not state, law. Changes in applicable laws or regulations may require revision. Dentists should contact their personal attorneys for legal advice pertaining to HIPAA compliance, the HITECH Act, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rules and regulations.
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