Privacy Policy
What this website collects, what we do with it, and how to make us delete it.
Short version. We collect only what we need to answer you and to understand how our website is used. We do not sell your information. We do not use anything you send through this website to target advertising to you. You can ask us to delete what we hold.
Who we are
This website is operated by Comfort Family Dental, a dental practice owned by Corie Rowe, DMD, located at 2036 W. 95th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60643. This policy explains what we collect through comfort-familydental.com and what we do with it.
This policy covers the website only. Information you give us as a patient of the practice — your chart, your treatment history, your billing records — is protected health information governed by HIPAA and by our Notice of Privacy Practices, which is a separate document.
What we collect
Information you give us
When you submit an appointment request or contact form, we collect your name, phone number, email address, your preferred appointment time, and whatever you choose to write in the message field. When you book through our online scheduling link, that booking provider collects the same categories on our behalf.
Please do not send detailed health information through this website. Website forms and ordinary email are not encrypted end to end and are not a secure channel for medical detail. Tell us you would like an appointment; save the clinical conversation for the phone or the operatory.
Information collected automatically
Like nearly every website, ours records technical information when you visit: IP address, browser and device type, the pages you viewed, how long you stayed, and the site or ad that referred you. This arrives through Google Analytics 4 and, if you reached us from an ad, through Google Ads conversion tracking.
Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies for two purposes. Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) tell us which pages people read and where they leave, so we can fix what is not working. Advertising cookies (Google Ads) tell us whether an ad click led to an appointment request, so we do not waste money on ads that do not help anyone find care.
You can refuse cookies in your browser settings, and you can opt out of Google Analytics specifically using Google's browser add-on. Refusing cookies does not limit your access to any part of this site.
How we use it
- To respond to your request and schedule your visit.
- To confirm, reschedule, or remind you about an appointment.
- To verify your dental benefits before you arrive, if you ask us to.
- To understand which pages and which ads actually help people find a dentist.
- To meet our legal, tax, and professional recordkeeping obligations.
What we do not do
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with data brokers. We do not use the contents of a form submission to build advertising audiences or to retarget you across the internet. We do not send marketing email to an address you gave us solely to book an appointment unless you separately ask us to.
Who else sees it
A small number of service providers process data on our behalf, each limited to the task we hired them for: our website host, our form and scheduling providers, Google (analytics and advertising measurement), and our practice management and billing systems. Where those providers handle protected health information, they do so under a business associate agreement as HIPAA requires.
We may also disclose information when the law requires it — a subpoena, a court order, a public health reporting duty — or where necessary to protect someone's safety.
How long we keep it
Website inquiries that do not become appointments are kept for up to 24 months and then deleted. Analytics data follows Google's retention settings, currently 14 months. Patient records are retained for the period Illinois law requires for dental records.
Your choices
You may ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. You may ask us to stop contacting you at any time; reply STOP to a text message or tell any team member. Illinois residents have rights under the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act, and patients have additional rights described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
To make a request, call the office or email info@comfort-familydental.com. We will verify who you are before acting on a request about someone's records.
Security
We use industry-standard safeguards including encrypted connections (HTTPS) across this site, access controls on our practice systems, and staff training. No method of transmission over the internet is perfectly secure, which is why we ask you not to send clinical detail through a web form.
Children
We treat many children, and we welcome them. But this website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information online from a child under 13. A parent or guardian should make the appointment request. If you believe a child submitted information here, call us and we will delete it.
Third-party links
Some pages link out — to Google Maps, to our review profile, to Wikimedia for photo credits, to manufacturers of the products we use. Those sites have their own policies and we are not responsible for them.
Changes
If we change this policy we will post the revised version here with a new effective date. Material changes will be noted at the top of the page for 30 days.
Contact
Comfort Family Dental · 2036 W. 95th Street, Chicago, IL 60643 · 773-366-8718 · info@comfort-familydental.com
Questions about your information?
Call the office and ask for the Privacy Officer. We will walk you through it.