Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information
Effective Date: 2026 | Last Updated: March 2026 | Version: 2.0 | Your Rights · Do Not Sell My Information
Mi Smile Family Dental ("we," "our," or "us") is a dental practice located in Houston, TX. We operate the website at mismile.dental (the "Site"). As a dental healthcare provider, we are a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and subject to the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA, effective July 1, 2024).
Our Privacy Officer can be reached at admin@mismile.dental or by calling 832-779-5522.
When you visit our Site, we automatically collect:
If you grant permission through your browser's location prompt, we collect your precise geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) solely to determine whether you are located within approximately 5 miles of our clinic. This data is described in full in Section 5. We never collect this data without your affirmative consent.
With your consent, we may collect non-identifying device characteristics including screen dimensions, browser type, operating system, color depth, language setting, and timezone. We use this information in aggregate to understand what devices our local patients use so we can optimize our website accordingly. We do not use this to identify you as an individual.
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
We do not use your information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects, nor do we sell your personal information to third parties.
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They allow the site to remember your preferences and measure how the site is used.
We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, Facebook Pixel, or any third-party marketing trackers.
You can manage or withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clicking the "Cookie Preferences" link in our website footer. You may also configure your browser to refuse cookies — however, some features of the Site may not function correctly. Most browsers allow you to manage cookies through their settings (typically under Privacy or Security).
In accordance with the March 2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) guidance on online tracking technologies, we have configured our analytics to help prevent Protected Health Information (PHI) from being transmitted to Google Analytics. Specifically:
Mi Smile Family Dental serves the local Houston community within approximately a 5-mile radius of our clinic at 11834 Airline Drive. We collect precise location data solely to understand what proportion of our website visitors are located near our clinic. This helps us ensure our website content, hours, and services are relevant to our local patient base.
Only after you have (a) accepted our cookie consent banner AND (b) separately granted location permission through your browser's own permission dialog does your browser share coordinates with our Site. We use the browser's Geolocation API — we do not infer location from your IP address for this purpose.
Precise location records are retained for no more than 90 days, after which they are automatically deleted from our storage systems.
You may withdraw location consent at any time by adjusting your browser's site permissions (typically under Site Settings or Privacy in your browser menu). You may also submit a deletion request at admin@mismile.dental and we will delete any stored location records associated with your session within 10 business days.
Mi Smile Family Dental is a dental practice and a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. This section serves as our Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information (PHI).
Protected Health Information (PHI) includes any information we create or receive that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition, the provision of healthcare to you, or payment for that care — when combined with information that could identify you.
We may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes without your separate authorization:
All other uses and disclosures of your PHI require your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, to provide you with this Notice, and to follow the terms of this Notice. We will notify you if there is a breach of your unsecured PHI. We may change the terms of this Notice at any time and the new terms will apply to all PHI we maintain.
If you believe we have violated your HIPAA privacy rights, you may file a complaint with us at admin@mismile.dental or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (Texas Business & Commerce Code, Chapter 541), Texas residents have the following rights regarding their personal data:
Confirm whether we process your personal data and request a copy of it.
Request correction of inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
Request deletion of personal data you have provided to us or that we have collected about you.
Receive a copy of your personal data in a portable, machine-readable format.
Opt out of the processing of your personal data for targeted advertising or profiling. We do not engage in these activities, but you may still submit a request.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
Under TDPSA, precise geolocation data (defined as any area smaller than 1 square mile) is classified as sensitive data. We obtain your explicit consent through a separate browser permission prompt before collecting any precise location data. You may withdraw this consent at any time through your browser's site settings.
Email us at admin@mismile.dental with the subject line "Texas Privacy Request." We will respond without undue delay, and within 45 days of receipt. We may extend this deadline by an additional 45 days where reasonably necessary, with notice to you.
If we deny your request, you may appeal by emailing us within 30 days of our denial. If your appeal is denied, you may submit a complaint to the Texas Attorney General at texasattorneygeneral.gov.
We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:
We implement reasonable technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information, including:
No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately at admin@mismile.dental.
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at admin@mismile.dental and we will promptly delete it.
Under TDPSA, we require verifiable parental or guardian consent before processing personal data of any individual under the age of 13.
We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. If your browser or browser extension sends a GPC signal when you visit our Site, we treat this as a valid opt-out request for the sale and sharing of your personal data and for targeted advertising, as required by the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (effective January 1, 2025).
When we detect a GPC signal, analytics cookies and any non-essential tracking scripts are suppressed for your session. You can enable GPC in privacy-focused browsers (such as Firefox, Brave, or DuckDuckGo) or via browser extensions. Learn more at globalprivacycontrol.org.
We review and update this Privacy Policy periodically, or when there is a material change in our data practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Continued use of our Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
Mi Smile Family Dental
Attn: Privacy Officer
11834 Airline Drive, Houston, TX 77037
Email: admin@mismile.dental
Phone: 832-779-5522
For HIPAA-specific complaints or concerns, you may also contact the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights at hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint.