Privacy Policy and SMS Terms

Privacy Policy

Seven Sails Dental Centre (“Seven Sails”, “we”, “us”) is a dental practice at 101–1629 Townsite Road, Nanaimo, BC V9S 1N3. We take the privacy of our patients, website visitors and job applicants seriously, and we handle personal information in line with British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and our professional obligations as dental care providers.

What personal information we collect

Through this website. When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, phone number (if you provide it), whether you're a current patient, the topic of your enquiry, how you heard about us, your message, and whether you've agreed to receive text messages. If you get in touch about working with us, we collect whatever you choose to send, such as your resume.

When you book, call or text us. We collect the details needed to schedule and manage your appointments, such as your name, phone number, email address and appointment history.

As a patient. To provide care, we collect information such as your medical and dental history, treatment records, images, insurance details and billing information. This is collected in the clinic and through our patient portal, and is kept as part of your confidential patient record.

Automatically. Like most websites, our hosting provider records standard technical information when you visit, such as your browser type, device and the pages requested. Our contact page and home page include a map provided by OpenFreeMap, which loads map images from their servers.

Website analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website, for example which pages are viewed and when a contact or careers form is submitted. Google Analytics uses cookies and collects information such as your approximate location, device, browser and the pages you visit. It does not receive what you type into our forms. We use this information only in aggregate to improve the website, and we do not use it for advertising. You can opt out with Google's browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout, or by blocking cookies in your browser.

How we use your information

• To respond to your enquiries and messages
• To schedule appointments and send reminders
• To provide, plan and follow up on dental care
• To bill you and, where you ask us to, submit claims to your insurer
• To send text messages you have agreed to receive (see the SMS Terms below)
• To review enquiries about working with us
• To meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations

How we share your information

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share it only when it's needed to provide our services or when the law requires it, for example:

• With your insurance provider, to process claims and pre-determinations you've asked us to submit
• With other health professionals involved in your care, such as a specialist we refer you to, with your consent
• With trusted service providers who help us run the practice, such as our website host, practice management, patient portal and business texting providers, who may only use the information to provide their service to us
• Where required or permitted by law

No mobile opt-in message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties, except the service providers who deliver our messages on our behalf.

How we protect and keep your information

We use reasonable physical, administrative and technical safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure. We keep information only as long as we need it for the purposes above, or as long as we are required to by law and by our professional regulator.

Your choices

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or withdraw your consent to optional uses such as text messages, subject to legal and contractual limits. To make a request, contact us using the details below.