Trillium Dental Centre (“Trillium Dental”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information and personal health information we collect from patients, prospective patients, website visitors, and other individuals who contact our office.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and safeguard information in connection with our dental practice, our website, and communications with our office. It is intended to reflect our obligations under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (“PHIPA”), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”), and other applicable privacy laws.
By using this website or contacting our office, you consent to the handling of information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you have questions about your personal information or personal health information, please contact us using the information at the end of this policy.
Information We Collect
We collect only the information reasonably necessary to provide dental care, respond to inquiries, schedule appointments, administer the practice, and operate our website. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:
- Name and contact information
- Date of birth, health card or insurance details when needed for billing or care coordination
- Dental and medical history, treatment notes, diagnostic records, images, prescriptions, referrals, and other personal health information
- Appointment requests, questions, preferences, and communications with our office
- Website usage information such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and cookies or similar technologies
How We Use Information
We use personal information and personal health information for purposes connected to patient care and practice operations, including to:
- Provide, document, and coordinate dental care
- Schedule, confirm, and follow up on appointments
- Respond to questions and appointment requests
- Process payments, insurance claims, and administrative records
- Meet legal, regulatory, professional, and record-keeping obligations
- Improve our website, communications, and patient experience
- Send practice updates or information where permitted by law and with any required consent
Consent
We collect, use, and disclose personal health information with your consent or as otherwise permitted or required by law. Consent may be express or implied depending on the circumstances. You may withdraw or limit consent for certain uses or disclosures, subject to legal, professional, contractual, or care-related restrictions. If withdrawing consent could affect our ability to provide care or complete administrative functions, we will explain the implications where appropriate.
Disclosure of Information
We do not sell personal information or personal health information. We disclose information only where necessary and appropriate, including to:
- Dentists, hygienists, assistants, administrators, and other team members involved in your care or practice administration
- Dental specialists, laboratories, pharmacies, physicians, insurers, benefit providers, and other parties involved in care, payment, or coordination with your consent or as permitted by law
- Service providers who help us operate our website, communications, booking, IT systems, analytics, payment processing, or records management
- Regulators, courts, government bodies, or other parties where required or authorized by law
Service providers are expected to protect information and use it only for the services they provide to us.
Cross-Border Processing and Storage
Some service providers may be located in or use systems located in the United States or other jurisdictions outside Canada. As a result, personal information and personal health information may be processed, stored, accessed, or disclosed outside Canada, including in the United States, and may be subject to the laws, lawful access requests, courts, law enforcement, or government authorities of those jurisdictions.
Where we use service providers, we take reasonable steps to require appropriate privacy and security safeguards for information handled on our behalf.
Website, Cookies, and Analytics
Our website may collect limited technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referring pages, and time spent on the site. We may use cookies, analytics tools, pixels, chat widgets, form tools, and similar technologies to operate the website, understand usage, improve content, and support communications.
You can adjust your browser settings to refuse or delete cookies. Some website features may not function as intended if cookies or scripts are disabled.
Safeguards
We use administrative, physical, and technical safeguards intended to protect personal information and personal health information against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, copying, modification, loss, or theft. These safeguards may include staff training, access controls, secure storage, confidentiality expectations, and appropriate technology safeguards.
No website, email, or electronic system is completely secure. Please avoid sending highly sensitive health information through unsecured channels unless you accept the risks or we have provided a secure method for doing so.
Data Retention
We retain personal information and personal health information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, to provide and document care, to operate the practice, and to meet legal, regulatory, professional, insurance, tax, and record-keeping obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.
- Clinical and personal health records: dental charts, treatment notes, diagnostic images, prescriptions, referrals, consents, billing records, and related clinical records are retained in accordance with Ontario dental record-keeping requirements. In general, dental records are kept for at least 10 years from the date of the last entry in the record. For minors, records are kept for at least 10 years after the patient reaches the age of majority.
- Website form submissions and inquiries: contact forms, appointment requests, and other website inquiries are retained for as long as needed to respond, schedule or follow up, transfer relevant information into the appropriate practice record when applicable, maintain administrative records, and meet legal or operational requirements.
- Log, analytics, and technical data: website logs, analytics records, cookie data, security logs, and similar technical information are retained for the periods set by our website, hosting, analytics, security, and communications tools, or for as long as reasonably needed to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.
Data Deletion and Disposal
When personal information or personal health information is no longer needed and no legal, professional, regulatory, insurance, tax, or operational requirement requires continued retention, we take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy, anonymize, or dispose of it. The method of disposal depends on the format and sensitivity of the information, and may include secure destruction of paper records, deletion of electronic records, removal from active systems, or anonymization where appropriate.
Some information may remain in backups, audit logs, archived systems, or service-provider systems for a limited period after deletion from active records. Where service providers handle information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to require them to protect the information and delete, return, or securely dispose of it when no longer needed for the services they provide, subject to legal and contractual requirements.
Your Rights: Access, Correction, and Deletion Requests
You may request access to, or correction of, your personal information or personal health information, subject to exceptions under PHIPA, PIPEDA, and other applicable laws. You may also ask us to delete information where deletion is legally and professionally permitted. Some records, including clinical and billing records, may need to be retained for required periods even if you ask for deletion. We may need to confirm your identity before responding to a request. If we cannot provide access, make a requested correction, or delete information, we will explain the reason where required by law.
Children’s Privacy
We collect information about children only as necessary to provide dental care, respond to appointment requests, administer the practice, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. Consent for a child’s care and information handling is managed in accordance with applicable law and professional obligations.
Links to Other Sites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services that we do not operate. We are not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site you visit.
Privacy Questions or Complaints
If you have questions, concerns, or a privacy complaint, please contact Trillium Dental Centre. We will review privacy concerns and respond as appropriate. You may also have the right to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Trillium Dental Centre
550 King Street N, Conestoga Mall, Waterloo, ON N2L 5W6
Phone: (519) 746-4000
Email: admin@trilliumdentalcentre.com
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes are effective when posted on this page. This policy was last updated on August 27, 2026.