Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Effective date: October 16, 2026

This notice applies to David Shen Dental Corp., doing business as OrthoWorks ("we," "us," or "our"). The law requires us to protect the privacy of your health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. This notice covers your care in our offices and during any virtual TeleOrthodontic visits.

When we say "health information" in this notice, we mean the records we keep about your dental care and how it is paid for.

You may ask us for a paper copy of this notice at any time. We also give a copy to every patient at their first visit and post it in each of our offices.

How we may use and share your health information

For treatment. We use your health information to give and coordinate your care. For example, a doctor on our team may review your file, or we may share your x-rays with a specialist who is helping with your treatment.

For payment. We use and share your health information to bill and collect payment for your care. For example, we may send a report of your treatment or progress to your dental or medical insurance plan.

For health care operations. We use your health information to run our practice. For example, our staff enters your treatment information into our records system, and we may use that information to review and improve the quality of care.

Business associates. We may share your information with outside companies that do work for us, such as a billing service. We have a written contract with each one that requires it to protect your information.

Appointment reminders and practice information. We may contact you to remind you about appointments or to share news about the practice. If we cannot reach you directly, we may leave a message with the person who answers or on your voicemail. Tell us if you would rather we reach you a different way.

Family and friends involved in your care. We may share information with a family member, friend, or other person you name who is involved in your care or in paying for it. In an emergency, we may share what is needed with the person responsible for your care.

Other uses allowed or required by law. We may use or share your information without your permission when the law allows or requires it. Examples include public health activities, reporting suspected abuse or neglect, health oversight by a government agency, court orders and legal proceedings, law enforcement requests that meet legal rules, serious threats to health or safety, coroners, organ donation, workers' compensation, and certain government functions.

Recording and AI-assisted documentation. We may record and transcribe calls, consultations, and other conversations, and use approved AI-assisted technology to document them in your records. This is part of how we provide and document your care, train and coach our team, and improve the quality of our practice. The transcription service is a business associate that works only on our behalf. We will tell you when a consultation is being recorded, and you may ask us to stop recording any conversation at any time.

Marketing and sale of your information. We will not use or share your health information for marketing, and we will not sell your information without your written permission. Both federal law and California law, called the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, require this.

Anything else needs your written permission. For any use or sharing not described in this notice, we will ask for your written authorization first. You may take back that authorization at any time by telling us in writing. We will stop, except where we have already acted on it. The authorization forms we use meet California's requirements for a valid authorization.

When we share your information with someone outside our practice, that person or company may be allowed to share it again, and it may no longer be protected by these rules.

Your rights

You have the following rights. To use any of them, contact us using the information at the end of this notice.

See and get a copy of your records. You can ask to look at or get a copy of your health information. If your records are electronic, you can ask for an electronic copy in the file type you prefer, and we will try to meet your request. You can also ask us to send a copy to another practice or person you name. We may charge a reasonable fee based on our cost.

Ask us to correct your records. If you think information is wrong or incomplete, you can ask us in writing to change it. You may also add a written statement to your file. We may or may not make the change, but we will include your statement. We will not remove or alter earlier records. We will add the new information.

Get a list of certain disclosures. You can ask for a report of certain times we shared your information, beyond the everyday uses for treatment, payment, and operations described above.

Ask us to limit what we use or share. You can ask us in writing to limit how we use or share your information for treatment, payment, or operations, or with a family member involved in your care. We do not have to agree to every request, and we will tell you if we can honor yours. We must agree to one request: if you pay in full, out of pocket, for a service, you can tell us not to share information about that service with your health plan.

Ask us to contact you a certain way. You can ask us to reach you at a certain phone number or address, or by a certain method, and we will honor reasonable requests.

Get a paper copy of this notice. You can ask for a paper copy at any time, even if you read it here or agreed to receive it electronically.

If the patient is under 18, a parent or guardian usually has these rights for them. In the limited situations where California law lets a minor consent to their own care, access to those records may be limited.

Our duties

The law requires us to protect your health information, to give you this notice, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. If your unsecured health information is involved in a breach, we will tell you as the law requires.

We reserve the right to change this notice. A changed notice will apply to all the health information we keep, including information we already have. If we make an important change, we will post the updated notice in our offices and on this website, and we will have copies available for you.

If our practice is sold or joins with another practice, your health information may transfer to the new owner as part of that change, as the law permits. The new owner would have to keep protecting your information under this notice or its own notice of privacy practices.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the federal government. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

To complain to us, contact our Privacy Officer, listed under "Contact us" below.

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

In writing: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201

Online: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/

By email: OCRComplaint@hhs.gov

By phone: 1-800-368-1019

Contact us

For questions about this notice, to use any of your rights, to make a request, or to file a complaint, contact:

Monique Gonzalez, Privacy Officer

OrthoWorks

883 Sneath Lane, Ste. 130, San Bruno, CA 94066

Phone: (650) 589-4563

Email: info@orthoworks.com

We provide care and the services described in this notice without discrimination. If you need this notice in another language or format, or you need help communicating with us, please ask.