Privacy Policy

White House Dental is committed to complying with the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), NHS regulations, and the professional standards set by bodies such as the GDC and CQC.


The data controller and the information governance lead is Sanjay Sachania.


When registering as a patient, you will be asked to provide personal information so that we can deliver appropriate and effective dental care. We collect, use, and store your data to ensure your safety, facilitate treatment planning, and manage your care with diligence and professionalism. Your data also supports us in communicating with you and improving the services we provide.


The categories and examples of data we process are:


  • Personal data for the provision of dental health care
  • Personal data for the purposes of providing treatment plans, recall appointments, reminders or estimates
  • Personal data such as details of family members for the provision of health care to children or for emergency contact details
  • Personal data for the purposes of direct mail/email/text to inform you of important announcements, new treatments or services or general practice communication
  • Special category data including health records for the purposes of the delivery of health care and meeting our legal obligations
  • Special category data to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010


Your personal data is stored securely either in the UK or EU in both paper and electronic formats. In some cases, digital data may be stored in the United States, but only with providers certified under the UK-US Data Privacy Framework. Access to your data is restricted to authorised personnel, and all storage and handling processes comply with data protection laws.


We only retain data for as long as necessary. Clinical records are kept for at least 10 years, or until the patient reaches the age of 25, whichever is longer in the case of children. Other data, such as NHS exemption forms, is retained in accordance with statutory requirements, typically two years or more depending on the purpose and document type.


We process your data under a number of lawful bases. These include: the legitimate interests of the practice, your explicit consent (where required), the fulfilment of contractual obligations (such as the delivery of treatment), and compliance with our legal obligations. For special category data, such as your medical records, the legal bases for processing include the provision of health care and safeguarding public health, as well as ensuring equal treatment under the Equality Act.


Your information is used to maintain accurate clinical records and provide dental treatment, including reminders, estimates, and follow-up care. We may also use it to liaise with NHS bodies, your GP, or other healthcare professionals. Your data may be shared with dental laboratories or specialists when needed for your treatment, always with your prior consent.


In some instances, we may share your data with third-party providers who process information on our behalf, for example, providers of dental software systems or marketing communications. These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and act only under our instruction. We do not sell or share your data for commercial purposes.


Where required by law, we may disclose your information to regulatory bodies such as the GDC, NHS England, the CQC, or for legal proceedings or complaints resolution. If we need to refer you to secondary care (e.g. a hospital or another dentist), your consent will be obtained before any personal information is shared.


CCTV is in use at our premises, it is operated solely for reasons of security, health and safety, and the prevention of crime. The use of CCTV is clearly signposted and data is handled in accordance with our CCTV policy, which can be requested at reception.


You have several rights under UK GDPR. These include:


  • The right to be informed about how your data is used
  • The right of access to your data and to receive a copy upon request
  • The right to correct or rectify inaccurate or incomplete information
  • The right to request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal exceptions)
  • The right to restrict or object to processing in certain circumstances
  • The right to data portability, allowing you to transfer your data to another provider


Please note that restricting or deleting certain data may mean we are no longer able to offer you dental care.


Cookies


We and our trusted partners use cookies and other technologies in our related services, including when you visit our Site or access our services. 

A "cookie" is a small piece of information that a website assign to your device while you are viewing a website. Cookies are very helpful and can be used for various different purposes. These purposes include allowing you to navigate between pages efficiently, enable automatic activation of certain features, remembering your preferences and making the interaction between you and our Services quicker and easier. Cookies are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see are relevant to you and your interests and to compile statistical data on your use of our Services. 

The Site uses the following types of cookies:

a. 'session cookies' which are stored only temporarily during a browsing session in order to allow normal use of the system and are deleted from your device when the browser is closed; 

b. 'persistent cookies' which are read only by the Site, saved on your computer for a fixed period and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Such cookies are used where we need to know who you are for repeat visits, for example to allow us to store your preferences for the next sign-in;

c. 'third party cookies' which are set by other online services who run content on the page you are viewing, for example by third party analytics companies who monitor and analyze our web access.


Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but Personal Information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. You may remove the cookies by following the instructions of your device preferences; however, if you choose to disable cookies, some features of our Site may not operate properly and your online experience may be limited.


We also use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about your use of the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users access the Site, what pages they visit when they do so, etc. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our Site and services. Google Analytics collects the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit sites, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this Site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.


Third party collection of information


Our policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. To the extent you disclose your information to other parties or sites throughout the internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. Accordingly, we encourage you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third party that you choose to disclose information to. 

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control, or to individuals whom we do not employ or manage, including any of the third parties which we may disclose information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. 


How do we safeguard your information?



We take great care in implementing and maintaining the security of the Site and your information. We employ industry standard procedures and policies to ensure the safety of the information we collect and retain, and prevent unauthorized use of any such information, and we require any third party to comply with similar security requirements, in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, we cannot be responsible for the acts of those who gain unauthorized access or abuse our Site, and we make no warranty, express, implied or otherwise, that we will prevent such access.


How to Raise a Concern or Make a Complaint

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about how we handle your data, please contact:


Sanjay Sachania
Information Governance Lead
White House Dental Practice
1 Ivy Mill Lane, Godstone, Surrey, RH9 8NH
enquiries@thewhitehouse.dental
01883 742549


If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or call 0303 123 1113.


Last Modified: July 2025