Privacy Policy

Your Privacy Matters to Us

At Newkirkgate Dental Care we take the privacy and security of your personal information seriously. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and what your rights are in relation to your data.

We are committed to handling your information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy applies to all patients, website visitors and anyone who contacts us by phone, email or through our website.

If you have any questions about this policy or about how we handle your data, please contact us at smile@newkirkgatedental.co.uk or call 0131 554 3509.

Data Controller Information

What Information We Collect

Information You Give Us Directly

• Your full name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address
• Your medical and dental history
• Details of treatment you have received or enquired about
• Payment information where relevant
• Information provided through our contact form or by telephone

Information We Collect Automatically

• When you visit our website, we may collect standard technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit
• This information is collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies
• For full details on cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy

Information From Third Parties

• Where you are referred to us by another healthcare provider, we may receive relevant clinical information from them with your consent
• NHS information may be shared between us and NHS Lothian in order to provide your NHS dental care

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Providing dental care — your clinical information is used by our dental team to assess, plan and carry out your treatment
• Appointment management — to book, confirm and manage your appointments
• Communication — to contact you about your care, send appointment reminders and respond to your enquiries
• NHS treatment — to process and submit NHS dental claims to NHS Lothian on your behalf
• Finance and billing — to process payments and, where applicable, manage finance arrangements through Tabeo
• Legal and regulatory compliance — to meet our obligations under GDC standards, NHS regulations and data protection law
• Practice management — to run the practice efficiently and maintain clinical records as required by law

We will only use your information for the purpose for which it was collected. We will never use your personal data for marketing without your explicit consent.

Our Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

Under UK GDPR, we are required to have a lawful basis for processing your personal information. The bases we rely on are:

• Contract — processing is necessary to provide the dental services you have requested
• Legal obligation — we are required by law and by GDC regulations to maintain accurate clinical records
• Legitimate interests — for example, contacting you about your appointments or responding to your enquiries
• Vital interests — in an emergency where your health or safety may be at risk
• Consent — where you have explicitly agreed to a specific use of your data, for example receiving marketing communications

For special category data such as your health information, we rely on the additional condition of processing for the provision of healthcare under Article 9(2)(h) of UK GDPR.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain patient records for a minimum of ten years from the date of last treatment, or until the patient’s 25th birthday if they were a child at the time of treatment — whichever is longer. This is in line with NHS and GDC guidance on clinical record retention.

Website enquiry data and contact form submissions are retained for a maximum of two years unless they relate to an ongoing patient relationship, in which case they become part of the patient record.

When data is no longer required, it is securely destroyed in line with our data retention policy.

Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. We may share your information with the following organisations where necessary to provide your care or meet our legal obligations:

• NHS Lothian — for the processing of NHS dental claims and reporting
• Dental laboratories — when fabricating crowns, dentures, bridges or other restorations, we share clinical impressions and limited patient details with our laboratory partners
• Specialist referrals — where you are referred to a specialist or another healthcare provider, relevant clinical information is shared with your knowledge and consent
• Tabeo — where you apply for patient finance, your details are shared with Tabeo for the purpose of processing your application
• DPAS — where you are enrolled in a membership plan, relevant details are shared with DPAS as the plan administrator
• IT and software providers — we use third-party software to manage appointments and clinical records. These providers are bound by data processing agreements and are not permitted to use your data for any other purpose
• Regulatory bodies — we may be required to share information with the GDC, NHS Scotland or other regulatory authorities where required by law

Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access — you have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — if any information we hold is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it
• Right to erasure — in certain circumstances you have the right to ask us to delete your data, though this may be limited by our legal obligation to retain clinical records
• Right to restrict processing — you have the right to ask us to restrict the way we use your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability — you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used format where processing is based on consent or contract
• Right to object — you have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at smile@newkirkgatedental.co.uk or call 0131 554 3509. We will respond within one calendar month.

Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience and to help us understand how the site is used. A cookie is a small text file placed on your device when you visit a website.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies — necessary for the website to function correctly
• Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it
• Marketing cookies — only placed with your explicit consent

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through your browser settings or through the cookie consent banner on our website. For full details, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

How We Protect Your Information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. These measures include secure storage of clinical records, restricted staff access to patient data, encrypted email communications where appropriate, and regular staff training on data protection.

How to Make a Data Protection Complaint

If you have a concern about the way we have handled your personal data, please contact us in the first instance at smile@newkirkgatedental.co.uk or call 0131 554 3509 and we will do our best to resolve the matter.

If you remain unhappy after contacting us, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Website: ico.org.uk

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We review and update this privacy policy periodically to reflect changes in the law, our practices or the services we offer. The current version will always be available on this page. Where changes are significant, we will take steps to inform patients directly.

Last reviewed: July 2026

Questions About This Policy?

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or about how we handle your personal data, please get in touch.

Phone: 0131 554 3509 Email: smile@newkirkgatedental.co.uk Address: 2 Great Junction Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 5LA