Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2025

Mint & Marine Dental Studio ("we", "our", or "the Practice") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website at mintandmarine.co.za or contact us directly.

1. Who We Are

Mint & Marine Dental Studio is a multidisciplinary dental practice located at Westlake Lifestyle Centre, Cape Town, South Africa. All practitioners are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). We can be contacted at Hello@mintandmarine.co.za or 066 227 8515.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Contact details: name, telephone number, and email address submitted via our enquiry form or WhatsApp
• Appointment information: preferred services, message content, and scheduling preferences
• Website usage data: browser type, pages visited, and time spent on the site (collected via standard server logs — we do not use third-party analytics trackers)

We do not collect sensitive health information through this website. Detailed medical and dental records are collected and stored separately within our clinical practice systems in accordance with applicable health legislation.

3. How We Use Your Information

Personal information submitted through this website is used exclusively to:

• Respond to your enquiry or appointment request
• Schedule and confirm consultations
• Send relevant follow-up communications you have consented to
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as a registered healthcare practice

We do not use your information for unsolicited marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: when you submit our contact form or initiate a WhatsApp conversation, you consent to being contacted in connection with your enquiry
• Contractual necessity: to provide dental services you have requested
• Legal obligation: to comply with HPCSA regulations, POPIA, and other applicable South African law
• Legitimate interests: to operate and improve our practice and website

5. Sharing of Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With service providers who assist us in operating our website or practice (e.g. web hosting via Afrihost), who are contractually bound to keep information confidential
• Where required by law, regulation, or court order
• With your explicit consent

6. Data Retention

Website enquiry data is retained for the period necessary to respond to your enquiry and, where a patient relationship is established, for the duration required by applicable health legislation (typically a minimum of five years for patient records). Data no longer required will be securely deleted.

7. Cookies

Our website uses only essential functionality. We do not use advertising, tracking, or profiling cookies. The Google Maps embed on our contact page may set cookies from Google's domain when loaded — please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for information on how they process data.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and applicable law, you have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Object to or restrict processing of your information
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external sites (including Google Maps and WhatsApp). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those services and encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.