Privacy Policy — The Village Dental Practice
Last updated: 31/07/2026
The Village Dental Practice (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This policy applies to patients, prospective patients, and visitors to our website at culchethvillagedental.co.uk.
1. Who we are — the Data Controller
The Village Dental Practice is the data controller responsible for your personal data.
Practice name: The Village Dental Practice
Address: Warrington Road, Culcheth, Cheshire, WA3 5HH
Phone: 01925 765757
Email: info@culchethvillagedental.co.uk
ICO Registration Number: ZC185785
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact Gareth Thomas (Data Protection Officer) using the details above.
2. The information we collect about you
We collect and process the following categories of personal data:
Identity and contact data
● Name, date of birth, address, telephone number(s), email address
● NHS number (where applicable)
Health data (special category data)
● Medical and dental history, examination findings, treatment records, x-rays, photographs, referral letters, prescriptions, and notes from consultations
● Information about your general health where relevant to your dental treatment (e.g. medications, allergies, pregnancy, medical conditions)
Financial data
● Payment details, billing history, and information relating to finance plans or insurance claims
Communication data
● Records of calls, emails, texts, and messages between you and the practice, including appointment reminders and recall communications
Website/technical data (if you contact us or use the online booking portal)
● IP address, browser type, and cookie data — see Section 8 (Cookies)
3. How we collect your information
● Directly from you — in person, by phone, email, our website contact form, or our online booking portal
● From other health professionals, if you are referred to us or we refer you elsewhere (e.g. a specialist, hygienist, or hospital)
● From your previous dental practice, with your consent, when you transfer to us
4. Why we use your information and our lawful basis
Under UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data, and an additional condition for processing special category (health) data.
Purpose Lawful basis (Article 6) Special category condition (Article 9)
Providing dental assessment, treatment and
care Contract / Vital interests Health or social care purposes (9(2)(h))
Maintaining clinical records Legal obligation Health or social care purposes (9(2)(h))
Billing and payment Contract —
NHS reporting and claims Legal obligation Health or social care purposes (9(2)(h))
Appointment reminders and recalls Legitimate interests Health or social care purposes (9(2)(h))
Marketing communications (e.g. newsletters,
offers) Consent Explicit consent (9(2)(a))
Handling complaints or safeguarding concerns Legal obligation / Vital interests Health or social care / substantial public interest
CCTV on practice premises (if applicable) Legitimate interests —
You can withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time — see Section 7.
5. Who we share your information with
We only share your information where necessary, and only with organisations who are required to keep it confidential. This may include:
● NHS England / your Integrated Care Board, for NHS treatment reporting and payment
● Dental laboratories, for the fabrication of crowns, dentures, splints, or other appliances — Boutique whitening, Brooklands, Swift, Align, S4S, Formby
● Specialist practices or hospitals, where you are referred for treatment we do not provide
● Your GP or other healthcare professionals, where relevant to your care
● Our practice management/clinical software provider, who process data on our behalf —Dentally
● Payment and finance providers, for processing payments or dental finance plans —Dojo payment processing, Chrysalis Finance
● Appointment reminder/recall service, if provided by a third party — Dentally practice managment software
● Regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or General Dental Council (GDC), where required
● Our professional indemnity insurer, in the event of a claim
● Where required by law, to the police, courts, or other authorities
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
6. How long we keep your information
We retain dental records in line with Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and NHS guidance:
● Adult patient records: retained for a minimum of 11 years from the date of last treatment
● Children’s records: retained until the patient’s 25th birthday (or 26th if they were 17 at the conclusion of treatment), or 11 years from the last entry, whichever is longer
● Records relating to a complaint or claim: may be retained for longer, in line with legal advice
● Financial records are retained in line with HMRC requirements (currently 6 years)
Records are securely destroyed once the relevant retention period has passed.
7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
● Access the personal data we hold about you (a “Subject Access Request”)
● Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data
● Erasure of your data in certain circumstances (this is limited for clinical records, which we have a legal duty to retain)
● Restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances
● Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
● Data portability, where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means
● Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent (e.g. marketing) — this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 1. We will respond within one month, as required by law.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has not been handled correctly:
● Website: ico.org.uk
● Helpline: 0303 123 1113
8. Cookies and website use
Our website may use cookies to improve your browsing experience, understand how visitors use our site, and support our online booking portal.
[CONFIRM AND LIST: e.g. Google Analytics, WordPress functional cookies, the online booking portal’s own cookies]
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of the website, including online booking.
(If cookies beyond strictly necessary/functional ones are used, a cookie consent banner is a legal requirement under PECR — flag to your web developer if one isn’t already in place.)
9. Keeping your information secure
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. This includes secure clinical software with access controls, staff training on confidentiality, and secure storage of any physical records.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practice or the law. The latest version will always be available on our website, with the date it was last updated shown at the top.
11. Contact us
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:
The Village Dental Practice
Warrington Road, Culcheth, Cheshire, WA3 5HH
Phone: 01925 765757
Email: info@culchethvillagedental.co.uk