Privacy Policy

Crest Dental Care (“Crest Dental Care”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, protect and disclose personal information when you visit or use our website at www.crestdentalcare.co.za, contact our practice, submit an enquiry, request an appointment, receive dental services from us, or otherwise interact with Crest Dental Care.

We are committed to handling personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable South African legislation, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with Crest Dental Care, we may collect the following information:

1.1 Personal Information

This may include:

Full name and surname
Contact telephone number
Mobile or WhatsApp number
Email address
Residential or postal address
Date of birth
Identification information where reasonably required
Appointment information
Communication and correspondence with our practice
Information submitted through our website enquiry forms

1.2 Patient and Health Information

Where you become a patient of Crest Dental Care, we may collect information necessary for the provision and administration of dental and healthcare services.

This may include:

Medical history
Dental history
Current dental conditions
Treatment information
Diagnosis and clinical information
Medication information
Allergies and relevant medical conditions
Treatment plans
Dental records
Radiographs, photographs and other diagnostic information
Information relating to previous dental treatment
Information required for medical aid claims
Other health information reasonably necessary for providing appropriate dental care

Health information is treated as confidential and will only be collected, used and disclosed for appropriate purposes and in accordance with applicable law.

1.3 Information Collected Through Our Website

When you use our website, we may collect information such as:

IP address
Browser type
Device type
Operating system
Pages visited
Date and time of visits
Referring website
General website usage information
Information submitted through online forms

This information may be collected through cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies.

2. How We Collect Your Information

We may collect personal information when you:

Complete an enquiry or contact form on our website
Contact us by telephone, email or WhatsApp
Request or schedule an appointment
Visit our dental practice
Become a patient
Receive dental treatment or other services from us
Provide information during a consultation
Provide medical aid or billing information
Communicate with our staff
Use or interact with our website
Voluntarily provide information to us for any other legitimate purpose

3. How We Use Your Personal Information

We may use your personal information for purposes including:

Responding to enquiries
Communicating with you
Scheduling and managing appointments
Providing dental and healthcare services
Assessing your dental and medical needs
Diagnosing and treating dental conditions
Preparing treatment plans
Maintaining accurate patient records
Providing follow-up care
Processing payments and accounts
Processing medical aid claims where applicable
Communicating with medical aid providers where reasonably necessary
Managing administrative and operational requirements
Improving our services and patient experience
Maintaining the security of our practice and website
Complying with applicable legal, regulatory and professional obligations
Protecting our rights and interests
Preventing fraud or misuse
Performing other activities reasonably necessary to provide our services

4. Processing of Health Information

Because Crest Dental Care provides healthcare services, we may process special personal information relating to your health.

Health information will only be collected and processed where reasonably necessary for purposes such as:

Providing healthcare and dental treatment
Assessing your suitability for treatment
Diagnosing and managing dental conditions
Maintaining patient records
Providing appropriate and safe patient care
Processing medical aid claims
Meeting legal, regulatory or professional requirements
Protecting the health and safety of patients
Other purposes permitted by applicable law

We take reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality and security of patient information.

5. Medical Aid Information

Where you use medical aid to pay for or contribute towards dental treatment, we may collect and process information necessary to:

Verify medical aid membership
Confirm benefits where applicable
Submit claims
Process accounts
Communicate with your medical aid provider
Resolve claim or payment-related queries

Medical aid providers may process your information in accordance with their own privacy policies and applicable legislation.

6. Website Enquiries

Our website contains forms through which visitors may submit their name, email address and message to Crest Dental Care.

Information submitted through these forms is used to respond to the enquiry and provide appropriate assistance.

Please do not submit highly sensitive medical information through a general website contact form unless specifically requested or otherwise necessary. Where detailed medical information is required, we may request that you provide it through a more appropriate communication channel.

7. Appointment Information

If you contact us to arrange an appointment, we may collect information required to schedule and manage your appointment.

This may include:

Name
Contact details
Preferred appointment date or time
Reason for the appointment
Relevant information necessary to provide appropriate assistance

Appointment information may be retained as part of our administrative and patient records.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve website functionality and user experience.

Cookies may be used to:

Ensure website functionality
Remember preferences
Understand how visitors use the website
Analyse website traffic
Improve website performance
Maintain website security

You may configure your browser to refuse or delete cookies. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of parts of the website.

9. Sharing Personal Information

Crest Dental Care does not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our services, operate our practice or comply with legal obligations.

Depending on the circumstances, information may be shared with:

Medical aid schemes and administrators
Healthcare professionals involved in your care
Dental laboratories or other treatment-related service providers
IT and website service providers
Website hosting providers
Payment service providers
Professional advisers
Accounting or administrative service providers
Regulatory authorities
Law enforcement authorities where legally required
Other service providers where reasonably necessary for legitimate healthcare or administrative purposes

Only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose should be disclosed.

10. Patient Confidentiality

Crest Dental Care recognises the confidential nature of patient information.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that patient information is only accessed, used or disclosed by authorised persons and for legitimate purposes.

Patient information will not ordinarily be disclosed to family members, friends or other third parties without appropriate authorisation, unless disclosure is permitted or required by law or is necessary in an emergency or for another lawful purpose.

11. Protection of Personal Information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

Loss
Theft
Unauthorised access
Unauthorised disclosure
Unauthorised alteration
Misuse
Destruction

However, no electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Where we use third-party service providers to process information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure that they handle personal information appropriately.

12. Retention of Information

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and as required by applicable healthcare, legal, accounting, regulatory and professional requirements.

Patient records may therefore need to be retained for periods prescribed by applicable laws, regulations or professional requirements.

When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or anonymise it where appropriate.

13. Your Rights Under POPIA

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

Request access to personal information we hold about you
Request correction or updating of inaccurate information
Request deletion of personal information where legally appropriate
Object to certain processing of your personal information
Request information about how your personal information is processed
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Object to direct marketing
Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

Certain rights may be subject to legal, healthcare, regulatory or professional requirements.

We may need to verify your identity before processing a request relating to your personal information.

14. Access to Patient Records

Patients may request access to personal or patient information held by Crest Dental Care, subject to applicable laws, professional requirements and any lawful limitations on access.

Requests should be made using the contact details provided below.

We may require sufficient information to verify your identity before releasing or providing access to patient information.

15. Direct Marketing

Where permitted by applicable law, Crest Dental Care may use your contact information to communicate information about services, practice updates or other information that may be relevant to you.

You may request that we stop sending marketing communications to you at any time.

Essential communications relating to appointments, treatment, accounts, healthcare services or other services you have requested may still be sent where necessary.

16. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services.

Crest Dental Care is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

We recommend that you review the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.

17. Children’s Information

Crest Dental Care provides dental services to children as part of its general and paediatric dentistry services.

Where information relating to a child is collected, we will process that information in accordance with applicable South African laws and healthcare requirements.

Where required, appropriate consent or authorisation from a parent, guardian or other legally authorised person will be obtained.

18. International Processing

Certain third-party technology, hosting, communication, analytics or software providers used by the website or practice may process or store information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, Crest Dental Care will take reasonable steps to ensure that such processing is carried out in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

19. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Crest Dental Care may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practice, website, services, technology or applicable legislation.

Any updated version will be published on this page together with the relevant updated date.

We encourage visitors and patients to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

20. Responsible Party

For purposes of POPIA and other applicable data protection legislation, the responsible party for personal information processed by Crest Dental Care is:

Crest Dental Care

Telephone: 031-765-3383
Alternative Number / WhatsApp: 071-284-2704
Email: info@crestdentalcare.co.za

Physical Address:
Shop 137, Oxford Village
9 Old Main Road
Hillcrest
KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa

The above contact details are published on the Crest Dental Care website.

21. Privacy Enquiries and Requests

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to request access to your personal information, wish to correct your information, or have a privacy-related complaint, please contact Crest Dental Care using:

Email: info@crestdentalcare.co.za
Telephone: 031-765-3383
WhatsApp: 071-284-2704

We will take reasonable steps to investigate and respond to privacy-related requests and complaints.

22. Complaints to the Information Regulator

If you are dissatisfied with how your personal information has been handled, you may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa, subject to the applicable requirements and procedures.

Information Regulator of South Africa
Website: www.inforegulator.org.za