Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics
PRIVACY Policy
Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics
1717 Olympia Way Ste. #108, Longview, WA 98632
Effective Date: August 20, 2026
Last Updated: August 20, 2026
Contents
- Scope of This Policy
- Information We Collect
- How We Use the Information We Collect
- How Information Is Shared — and What Is Never Shared
- Text Messaging (SMS) Terms and Conditions
- Your Choices and Rights
- Data Security and Retention
- Children's Privacy
- Cookies and Website Analytics
- Changes to This Policy
- How to Contact Us
1. Scope of This Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics ("we," "us," or "the Practice") collects, uses, and shares information through our website, our online forms, our telephone and text messaging systems, and our email communications.
Protected health information created or maintained as part of your child's dental record is also governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Where this Privacy Policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices differ with respect to protected health information, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls. A copy of the Notice is available at our office and upon request.
2. Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal information:
You may choose not to provide certain information, but some information is necessary in order to schedule, treat, or bill for care.
3. How We Use the Information We Collect
We use the information described above for the following purposes:
- To provide dental and orthodontic care — scheduling, examining, diagnosing, treating, and coordinating care for your child, including with referring providers, specialists, and dental laboratories.
- To communicate with you about appointments and care — appointment reminders and confirmations, rescheduling and cancellation notices, recall and recare notices, forms to complete before a visit, pre- and post-operative instructions, and office closure notices.
- To respond to you — answering questions you send through our website contact form, by email, by telephone, or by text message, including two-way conversational messages with our staff.
- To bill and process payment — submitting insurance claims, verifying benefits, obtaining prior authorizations, issuing statements, and following up on balances.
- To operate and improve the Practice — quality improvement, staff training, recordkeeping, auditing, security monitoring, and understanding how our website is used.
- To comply with law — meeting our obligations under HIPAA, Washington State law, and other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
We do not use your information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects, and we do not sell your personal information.
4. How Information Is Shared — and What Is Never Shared
We share personal information only as described here:
- Service providers and business associates — companies that perform services for us, such as our practice management and patient communication platforms, appointment reminder and text messaging providers, telecommunications carriers, billing and claims clearinghouses, IT and cloud hosting vendors, secure document shredding services, and our legal and accounting advisors. These companies may use your information only to perform services for us and are bound by written agreements, including HIPAA business associate agreements where applicable.
- Other health care providers and payers — for treatment, payment, and health care operations, as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
- People involved in your child's care — a parent, guardian, family member, or other person involved in the child's care or payment for that care, consistent with HIPAA and Washington law.
- When required or permitted by law — for public health activities, mandatory reporting, health oversight, judicial or administrative proceedings, law enforcement requests that meet legal requirements, workers' compensation, or to avert a serious threat to health or safety.
- Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of practice assets, subject to the protections required by HIPAA.
Mobile opt-in and text messaging consent is never shared.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. No mobile opt-in message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.
Information sharing to subcontractors in support services, such as customer service or messaging delivery, is permitted. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, your telephone number, or your text messaging consent.
5. Text Messaging (SMS) Terms and Conditions
These Text Messaging Terms and Conditions apply to the SMS program operated by Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics and form part of this Privacy Policy.
5.1 Program description and message types
If you opt in, Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics may send you the following types of text messages:
- Appointment reminders and confirmations — upcoming visit reminders, confirmation requests, rescheduling and cancellation notices.
- Conversational, two-way messages — replies from our staff to your questions about scheduling, treatment coordination, billing, or insurance.
- Recall and informational messages — six-month cleaning and recare notices, links to forms to complete before a visit, pre- and post-operative instructions, and office closure or emergency notices.
We do not send promotional or marketing text messages under this program.
5.2 How you opt in
You opt in by giving us your mobile number and affirmatively agreeing to receive text messages — for example, by checking the optional, unchecked-by-default texting consent box on our new patient forms, our Notice of Privacy Practices acknowledgement form, or the contact form on this website; by completing a paper form at our office; or by texting us first.
Consent language used on our forms:\
"By submitting this form and signing up for texts, you consent to receive appointment reminders, confirmations, recall notices, and other informational and conversational text messages from Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics at the number provided, including messages sent by autodialer. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP or clicking the unsubscribe link (where available). Reply HELP for help. Privacy Policy & Terms."
5.3 Consent is optional
Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of purchase and is not a condition of receiving dental or orthodontic treatment. Any texting consent checkbox on our forms is optional and is unchecked by default. If you do not opt in, we will contact you by telephone, email, or mail instead.
5.4 Message frequency, rates, and carriers
Message frequency varies and depends on your appointment schedule and your communications with our office. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
5.5 How to stop messages or get help
Reply STOP to any message to unsubscribe. You will receive a single confirmation message and no further texts unless you opt in again. Reply HELP for assistance, or call our office at 360-636-1900.
You may also ask any staff member to remove your number.
5.6 Supported carriers and devices
Message delivery depends on your mobile carrier and device. Delivery is not guaranteed, and we are not responsible for messages that are delayed or not delivered.
5.7 Privacy of text messages
Text messaging is not a fully secure method of communication, and there is some risk that a message could be read by a third party with access to your device or account. We limit the information we include in text messages accordingly. Do not send us urgent clinical concerns or emergency requests by text — call our office, or call 911 in an emergency.
5.8 Sharing of texting data
As stated in Section 4, no mobile opt-in message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes. Your mobile number and consent record are shared only with the service providers that deliver messages on our behalf, and only for that purpose.
6. Your Choices and Rights
- Text messages — reply STOP at any time, or ask our office to remove your number.
- Email — use the unsubscribe link where one is offered, or contact our office. We may still send you transactional messages about scheduled appointments and billing.
- Confidential communications — you may ask us to contact you only by a particular method, or only at a particular address or telephone number, by submitting a written request to our Privacy Officer.
- Access, copies, amendment, restrictions, and accounting of disclosures — rights you hold in your child's protected health information, as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
- Washington State residents — you may have additional rights regarding health data, reproductive health information, and mental health and substance use information. Where state law provides greater protection than federal law, we follow state law.
- Complaints — you may complain to our Privacy Officer or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, without fear of retaliation.
7. Data Security and Retention
We maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, including access controls, encryption in transit, and written agreements with our vendors. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
We retain dental records for the period required by Washington State law and by our professional obligations, and we retain texting consent and opt-out records for as long as needed to document your consent and to comply with applicable law.
8. Children's Privacy
We are a pediatric dental practice, and much of the information we hold concerns children. That information is provided to us by a parent or legal guardian in the course of arranging and receiving care, and it is protected under HIPAA and Washington law. Our website is directed to parents and guardians, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13 without parental consent.
9. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working properly, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use the site. Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through your browser settings; some site features may not work correctly if you do.
We do not use website analytics data to build advertising profiles about you, and we do not combine it with your protected health information.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and post the revised policy here. Material changes to how we handle text messaging consent will be described clearly.
11. How to Contact Us
Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics
Privacy Officer: Becky O'Connor
1717 Olympia Way Ste. #108
Longview, WA 98632
Phone: 360-636-1900
Email: secretary@happykidsdentistry.com
You may also file a complaint with:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-877-696-6775
© 2026 Happy Kids Dentistry and Orthodontics. This Privacy Policy, including the Text Messaging (SMS) Terms and Conditions in Section 5, applies to all visitors to this website and to all patients and responsible parties of the Practice.
