Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: May 13, 2020

We at Smile Brands are dedicated to doing our best to protect your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and share personal information about you, both online and offline. This Privacy Policy applies to all patients and users of Smile Brands and all of our affiliated practices (a list of which can be viewed here), including our websites at SmileBrands.com, brightnow.com, monarchdental.com, castledental.com newportdental.com, and anywhere else this policy is displayed.

 

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND USE?

We collect and use personal information and non-personal information. “Personal information” is information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked to a particular person or household. “Non-personal information” is any information that is not personal information, and may include information that has been aggregated or de-identified such that it does not identify or relate to a particular person. We may combine information. For example, we may combine information that we have collected offline with information we collect online. Or we may combine information we get from a third vendor with information we already have.

1. Identifiers

What we collect: Your contact information (such as your name, email address, mailing address, phone number), a username and password for our website, IP address (and your general location), date of birth, and information in financing applications and patient forms (such as social security number, tax ID number, driver’s license number, and signature), and other similar identifying information.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you, such as when you apply for financing, contact us, register and create a profile, use web chats to schedule an appointment, submit patient forms, use our websites, view our advertising or content on other websites (including social media sites), sign up for an email list, or apply for a job. We also receive this information from vendors who collect it on our behalf. We may receive this information from a patient who lists you as an emergency contact or spouse in their pre-visit paperwork or refers us to you, and we occasionally purchase mailing lists from other businesses. We may obtain “new mover lists” with basic demographic information about you.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to operate our business and our website; help you locate an office or practice near you; review credit applications; intake new patients; provide customer service; improve our services; perform research and business analytics; verify requests made pursuant to this Privacy Policy; protect our business and our patients against illegal activity; and to tailor and send you marketing communications for ourselves and for selected third parties. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

2. Information defined in California’s Customer Records Law (note that there may be overlap with other categories listed here)

What we collect: Your contact information (such as your name, email address, mailing address, phone number), signature, insurance policy number, social security number, tax ID number, driver’s license number, employment history, and other similar identifying information. We also collect information to complete a transaction, such as your payment card number, expiration date, card verification number, and billing address.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you (or your guardian or responsible party), such as when you make a payment, apply for financing, contact us, register and create a profile, use web chats to schedule an appointment, submit patient forms, sign up for an email list, or apply for a job. We also receive this information from vendors who collect it on our behalf.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to operate our business and our website; review credit applications; intake new patients; provide customer service; improve our services; verify requests made pursuant to this Privacy Policy; process payments; protect our business and our patients against illegal activity; and to tailor and send you marketing communications for ourselves and for selected third parties. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

3. Commercial and Consumer Credit Information

What we collect: Information about your visit history and the services you have received, as well as the services and products you have considered or viewed on our websites and your preferences. We collect information about how you found our practice. If you apply for financing, we may collect information about your employment status, income, housing type, and other similar information.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you (or your guardian or responsible party), such as when you apply for financing, schedule an appointment, submit patient forms, contact us, view our website, or view our advertising on other websites. We collect this information automatically from your computer or device when you view products or services on our site. We also receive this information from vendors who collect it on our behalf, and we may receive it consumer credit reporting agencies we hire to run credit checks for financing.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to provide and improve our services and products; review credit applications; perform research and business analytics; verify requests made pursuant to this Privacy Policy; understand your preferences and to tailor and send you marketing communications for ourselves and for selected third parties. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

4. Internet and Network Activity Information

What we collect: Information about how you interact with our website, such as the domain from which you accessed our website, the date and time you access the site, the pages you visit, the type of browser and operating system you use; your browsing behavior and search history; your interactions with our digital advertisements and online content; your engagement with our email messages (for instance, whether you opened a message); and other information about your online activity and engagement with us.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information automatically from your computer or device, using tracking tools like cookies, web beacons, or pixels. We collect this information when you visit our website or view our advertising or content on other websites, or when you open and read our email messages. We also receive this information from vendors who collect it on our behalf.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to operate, maintain, and protect our websites; improve our products and services; improve your experience on our sites; perform research and business analytics; understand your interests and preferences; and to tailor and send you marketing communications for ourselves and for selected third parties. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

5. Geolocation data

What we collect: General location based on your ZIP code and/or IP address. We may also collect the precise location of your mobile device if you use a mobile device to access our content and websites.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information automatically from your computer or device. We collect your ZIP code when you provide it to us.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to help you search for nearby services and practices. We also use location information to target our advertising and promotional materials so they relevant to your location. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

6. Protected Classification Information

What we collect: Demographic information, such as your date of birth, gender, ethnicity, and primary language. We may collect your disability status and military/veteran status if you apply for financing. In your patient forms, we may collect marital status if you provide contact information for your spouse, HIV/AIDS status, pregnancy status, and recent travel history.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you (or your guardian or responsible party), such as when you create an account, contact us, apply for a job, apply for financing, or submit patient forms. We may also receive this information from vendors who collect it on our behalf.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to ensure patient safety, process insurance claims, and provide customer service. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

 

7. Medical Information and Health Insurance Information

What we collect: Information about your current and past dental and overall health, such as symptoms and reason for a visit, current temperature, dentist/physician visit history, allergies, medications, and specific medical diagnoses. We collect dental or health insurance information.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you (or your guardian or responsible party) when you submit patient forms.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to ensure patient safety, provide dental services, process insurance claims, provide customer service, and detect and investigate insurance fraud or other illegal activity. We may use this information for other similar purposes related to the operation of our business, or as we may notify you from time to time.

8. Professional and Employment Information

What we collect: If you apply for a job with us, we will collect any information you submit about previous employers, work experience, your resume, or other information you provide with your job application.

From whom we collect it: We collect this information directly from you. We may also receive this information from a social network if you choose to have it imported from the social network.

The purpose for collecting it: We use this information to evaluate your job application.

HOW DO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION?

We may share non-personal information with third parties for any purpose, unless prohibited by law. We may share each of the above-identified categories of personal information as disclosed at the time you provide such personal information, and in the following circumstances:

With Our Affiliates. We may share your personal information among the brands and providers listed in the introduction of this Privacy Policy.

Public Posts. When you post comments or content in web chats on our websites, the content you post may be viewable by the other users of those features. We urge you to be careful when deciding to make any of your personal information publicly available through our sites.

Legal Disclosure: We may disclose personal information to protect our rights or property, to enforce our Terms of Use and other legal rights, or as required by operation of law or at the request of government regulators or other law enforcement officials and the courts (including the issuance of a valid subpoena). We shall have no duty to notify you of such compliance with the law. We may disclose personal information to protect your safety and the safety of others and to assist us in fraud prevention or investigation.

Business Transfer. We may disclose personal information in connection with a reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer of other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).

Business Partners. We may disclose personal information with business partners and other companies with whom we have joint marketing agreements.

We may share your personal information with our service providers for our own business and operational purposes, including as follows:

We share Identifiers with service providers, including, for example, those who send emails and other marketing or customer service communications for us, process payments and insurance claims, provide advertising or marketing services, track advertising impressions, provide analytics services, operate and maintain our websites and customer databases, help protect against security incidents or other illegal activity, help us evaluate job applicants, run credit scores or background checks, collect debts, or who provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share information defined in California’s Customer Records Law with service providers, including, for example, those who process payments and insurance claims, run credit scores or background checks, collect debts, investigate and prevent fraud or other illegal activity, send marketing or customer service communications for us, operate and maintain our websites and customer databases, help protect against security incidents, help us evaluate job applicants, or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Commercial and Consumer Credit Information with service providers, including, for example, those who process payments and insurance claims, operate and maintain our websites, provide advertising and marketing services, track advertising impressions, provide analytics services, run credit scores, or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Internet and Network Activity Information with service providers, including, for example, those who operate, host, or manage our websites, protect against and investigate security incidents or other illegal activity, provide advertising or marketing services, track advertising impressions, provide analytics services, place our advertisements on third-party platforms, or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Geolocation Data with service providers, including, for example, those who operate, host, or manage our websites, protect against and investigate security incidents or other illegal activity, provide advertising or marketing services, track advertising impressions, provide analytics services, place our advertisements on third-party platforms or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Protected Classification Information with service providers, including, for example, those who conduct background checks on job applicants, process payments and insurance claims, or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Medical Information and Health Insurance Information with service providers, including, for example, those who process payments and insurance claims, investigate and protect against fraud or illegal activity, or provide other related business functions on our behalf;

We share Professional or Employment-Related Information with service providers, including, for example, those who operate, host, or manage our websites, help us evaluate job applicants, conduct background checks, or provide other related business functions on our behalf; and

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

Access – You can request, up to two times every 12 months, that we disclose to you the following: (i) the categories of personal information that we have collected about you; (ii) the categories of sources from which we have collected personal information about you; (iii) the categories of personal information that Smile Brands has disclosed about you for our business purposes in the last 12 months and the categories of third parties to whom the Personal Information was disclosed, by category or categories of personal information for each Third Party to whom the personal information was disclosed; and (iv) a copy of the specific pieces of personal information that we have collected about you.

Deletion – You can request that we delete personal information that we have about you, subject to certain exceptions allowed under applicable law.

Opt-Out / Do Not Sell – We do not believe we sell your personal information, as described in California law. For purposes of this Privacy Statement, “sell” means the sale, rental, release, disclosure, dissemination, availability, transfer, or other oral, written, or electronic communication of your personal information by Smile Brands to a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.

You will not be discriminated against for exercising the above rights. You may exercise the above rights by calling our toll-free number at (855) 992-7223 or by submitting the request online here. Note that we may deny certain requests, or fulfill a request only in part, based on our legal rights and obligations. For example, we may retain personal information as permitted by law, such as for tax or other record keeping purposes, to maintain an active account, and to process transactions and facilitate customer requests.

 

We may take reasonable steps to verify your identity prior to responding to your requests. The verification steps will vary depending on the sensitivity of the personal information and whether you have an account with us.

 

You may designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. When submitting the request, please ensure the authorized agent identifies himself/herself/itself as an authorized agent.

 

YOUR CHOICES

Marketing Communications: You may opt out of receiving our newsletters, emails or other marketing communications by following the “unsubscribe” instructions in any marketing emails. Please note that you cannot opt-out from all communications, as we may need to send you information related to your appointments, medical history, billing, or other transactional purposes.

 

Cookies and Tracking Tools: You can control certain tracking tools on your web browser. You do not have to accept cookies to use our website; however, if you disable cookies, certain functionality on our website may be lost. You can delete cookies by going to the preferences, tools or options menus of your browser. Selections you make are device-specific and browser-specific.

 

Interest-Based Advertising: We or our service providers place advertisements for our products and services on websites operated by others. To tailor this advertising to your interests, we and our service providers may use information collected about your visits to our websites and other websites. If you would prefer not to be tracked for purposes of receiving interest-based advertising, you can opt-out by clicking here.

 

Do Not Track: Your web browser may offer you a “Do Not Track” option, which allows you to signal to websites and internet companies that you do not want your online activities to be tracked over time and/or across different websites. Our websites do not support Do Not Track requests at this time.

 

OTHER WEBSITES

Note that certain links on our web pages will take you away from our site to web pages operated by third parties. We have no control over the information collection and practices on third parties’ sites. You should examine the terms of service and privacy policies of other web pages whenever you visit them.

 

SECURITY

We will make reasonable efforts to use the latest security technologies designed to help ensure that the information we collect about our users is secure. However, we would like to remind you that the Internet is not 100% secure, and technology is no substitute for common sense. We strongly encourage users to keep their login names and passwords secret and to change their password when they think they have become compromised. Furthermore, we recommend that our users communicate over secure channels wherever possible, disable the automatic login features found in some browsers, and empty their browser caches regularly.

 

CHILDREN

Our websites are not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not seek to, nor do we knowingly collect, information from children under the age of 16, and we request that such individuals do not provide personal information through our websites. While we do not sell any personal information, we would not knowingly sell the personal information of children under the age of 16 without affirmative authorization.

 

UPDATES

From time to time, we may update this Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes we will notify you as required by law, which may include a notice on this website prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you would like any more information about Smile Brands Inc. or its Online Privacy Policy, please e-mail us at [email protected], or call us at (855) 992-7223.