Effective Date: 04/01/2019
Gems Dental PLLC respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide when you visit our website, communicate with us electronically, or use our online services.
This Privacy Policy explains the types of information we may collect, how we use and protect that information, and the choices available to you.
This Privacy Policy applies to our website located at www.gemsdental.com and related online services operated by the Practice.
1. Information We May Collect
We may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, including:
- Your name
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Mailing address
- Appointment requests
- Questions or messages submitted through our website
- Insurance-related information
- Information you provide when completing online forms
- Other information you choose to provide to us
We may also automatically collect certain technical information when you visit our website, such as:
- Internet Protocol (IP) address
- Browser type
- Device type
- Operating system
- Pages visited
- Date and time of your visit
- Referring website
- General geographic information derived from your IP address
- Website interaction and usage information
2. Health Information and HIPAA
Certain information you provide to us may constitute Protected Health Information (“PHI”) and may be protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and other applicable healthcare privacy laws.
Our use and disclosure of PHI is governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices, not solely by this Website Privacy Policy.
Our Notice of Privacy Practices explains how we may use and disclose your health information, your rights regarding that information, and our legal responsibilities concerning your health information.
A paper copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices is available at Gems Dental, or email frondesk.admin@gemsdental.com requesting a copy.
3. Online Forms and Sensitive Information
Please use caution when submitting medical, dental, insurance, financial, or other sensitive information through ordinary website contact forms.
Unless a form or communication method is specifically identified as secure or HIPAA-compliant, you should not use it to transmit highly sensitive medical or financial information.
When available, patients should use our secure patient portal or another secure communication method for sensitive information.
4. How We Use Information
We may use information collected through our website to:
- Respond to questions and inquiries
- Schedule or confirm appointments
- Communicate with patients and prospective patients
- Provide requested information about our services
- Verify or obtain insurance information
- Provide administrative and customer service
- Operate and improve our website
- Analyze website performance and usage
- Maintain website security and prevent fraud or misuse
- Comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements
- Perform other activities permitted or required by law
We do not use or disclose PHI except as permitted by applicable law and our Notice of Privacy Practices.
5. Text Messages and Electronic Communications
If you provide your telephone number or email address, we may use it to communicate with you regarding appointments, treatment-related matters, account information, or other services you have requested, subject to applicable law and your communication preferences.
Message and data rates may apply to text messages.
Where required, we will obtain appropriate consent before sending marketing or promotional communications.
Consent to receive marketing text messages is not a condition of receiving dental treatment.
You may opt out of marketing text messages by replying STOP or following other opt-out instructions contained in the message.
6. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website may use cookies, pixels, analytics technologies, and similar tools to help operate the website and understand how visitors use it.
These technologies may collect information concerning your device, browser, website activity, and interactions with our website.
We may use this information to:
- Maintain website functionality
- Understand website traffic
- Improve website performance
- Diagnose technical issues
- Evaluate the effectiveness of our website and advertising
Your browser may allow you to block, delete, or restrict cookies. Disabling cookies may affect certain website functions.
7. Website Analytics and Third-Party Services
We may use third-party service providers to assist us with website hosting, analytics, scheduling, communications, security, advertising, or other business functions.
These providers may collect information through cookies or similar technologies when permitted by applicable law and our agreements with them.
Where a third-party provider receives PHI on our behalf and is considered a business associate under HIPAA, we require an appropriate Business Associate Agreement when required by law.
We do not authorize third-party website technologies to use PHI in a manner inconsistent with applicable law.
8. Disclosure of Information
We may disclose personal information when reasonably necessary to:
- Provide services you request
- Operate our dental practice
- Work with service providers acting on our behalf
- Process business transactions
- Protect our patients, employees, Practice, or others
- Investigate fraud, security incidents, or illegal activity
- Comply with subpoenas, court orders, regulatory requirements, or other legal obligations
- Respond to lawful requests from governmental authorities
- Exercise or defend legal rights
Any disclosure of PHI will be handled in accordance with HIPAA and other applicable laws.
9. Sale of Personal Information
We do not sell Protected Health Information.
[If accurate for your practice: We do not sell personal information collected through our website.]
We also do not authorize the use of PHI for targeted advertising in violation of applicable healthcare privacy laws.
10. Data Security
We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
However, no website, electronic transmission, computer system, or method of electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted electronically.
11. Email and Internet Communications
Ordinary email and internet communications may not be completely secure.
If you communicate with us by standard email, you acknowledge that email may involve privacy and security risks.
For sensitive medical or dental information, we encourage you to use our secure patient portal or contact our office for an appropriate secure communication method.
12. Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, availability, or content of third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website you visit.
13. Children's Privacy
Our website is intended primarily for adults seeking information concerning dental services for themselves or their families.
We do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13 without appropriate parental or legal guardian consent.
Parents or guardians who believe that a child has provided personal information to us through our website may contact us to request appropriate action.
14. Your Privacy Choices
Depending on the type of information involved and applicable law, you may contact us to:
- Update or correct contact information you previously provided
- Request that we stop sending certain marketing communications
- Ask questions regarding information collected through our website
- Obtain information about our privacy practices
Rights concerning Protected Health Information are explained separately in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
15. HIPAA Privacy Rights
Patients have specific rights regarding PHI under HIPAA and other applicable laws.
These may include rights relating to:
- Accessing health records
- Requesting corrections to health information
- Requesting certain restrictions
- Requesting confidential communications
- Receiving an accounting of certain disclosures
- Obtaining a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices
- Filing a privacy complaint
Please refer to our Notice of Privacy Practices for a complete description of these rights and instructions for exercising them.
16. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, services, or legal requirements.
When we make changes, we will post the revised Privacy Policy on this website and update the Effective Date shown above.
We encourage visitors to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
17. Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Third-party cookies and tracking technologies
The cookies described above are set by Gems Dental itself. This part explains what else is stored on your device, what information leaves this site as you use it, and who receives it.
A cookie is a small file a site stores in your browser. This also covers the other techniques that do the same job — local storage, tracking pixels, and scripts embedded from other companies. They are all treated the same way here.
Information collected as you browse
When your browser loads a resource from another company, that request necessarily reveals your IP address, the type of browser and device you are using, and the address of the page you were reading at the time. That is true of every embedded map, video, booking widget, font and analytics script, and it happens whether or not you interact with it.
Categories
Strictly necessary. Session handling, security, and the record of the choice you make about this policy. These are never optional and nothing here is sent to another company.
Functional. Features you would notice the absence of — embedded maps and video, appointment booking, translation, and spam protection on forms.
Analytics. Measures which pages are read and how people move through the site, so it can be improved.
Marketing. Advertising, retargeting and working out which campaigns brought people here.
Your choices
Every browser can block or delete cookies, usually under Privacy or Site settings. Blocking them wholesale will stop parts of this site working. You can also reopen this site's own notice at any time:
Cookie disclosure last reviewed: August 14, 2026.
18. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Website Privacy Policy, please contact:
Gems Dental
13303 Champion Forest Drive, Suite 5, Houston, TX , 77069
Phone: (281) 444-1755
Email: frontdesk.admin@gemsdental.com
Privacy Contact:
Paula Xavier – paula@gemsdental.com
For questions specifically concerning your Protected Health Information or your HIPAA privacy rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the information above.
