Practice Policies

Cancellations
Scheduled visits are an important part of your dental health. We understand circumstances
change and we will be happy to reschedule your appointment.
We kindly ask that you give at least 24 hours notice of changes to your scheduled appointment.

Failure to Attend
Unfortunately, we experience high rates of missed appointments. This significantly impacts on
waiting times for appointments and patients' treatments are pushed back.
As a result, we will be implementing fees for missed appointments and late cancellations (within
24 hours), charged at £1 per minute. The fee must be paid before another appointment can be
arranged. Failure to attend appointments or late cancellations on more than 2 occasions will
result in your deregistration from the practice.
If you arrive late for your scheduled appointment, the dentist has the right to refuse treatment and
charge accordingly.

Deposit Payments
A 50% or 100% deposit for the cost of your treatment will be needed at the time of your booking.
An appointment cannot be given, unless the relevant deposit has been paid.

Zero Tolerance
We give a Zero Tolerance promise to our staff. Our staff should be able to come to work without
fear of physical or verbal violence, harassment or abuse.

Out of Hours Care
Our normal working hours are Monday-Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm. For any out of hours emergencies, please call NHS24 on 111. In the event the staff have to stay back for unscheduled or out of hours treatment, an out-of-hours fee will be charged.

Treatment Plans
A treatment plan will be provided to you to sign either by hand or electronically. The dentist
reserves the right to amend the treatment plan and the costs of care according to your treatment
needs on the day of treatment. These forms are part of the process we undertake to ensure we
have your informed consent before any treatment is carried out.

Safeguarding
For the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, if a person under 18 or in a vulnerable
group misses an appointment, we follow the “Was Not Brought” pathway, as defined by the British
Dental Association.

Equality & Diversity
We ensure that all patients and staff, both actual and potential, are treated fairly and respectfully
and are not discriminated against regardless of age, colour, disability, ethnic or national origin,
gender, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, or
sexual orientation (Equality Act 2010).

Complaints/Compliments
Please contact the Practice Manager if you wish to comment on any aspect of the service you
have received. We take complaints very seriously and aim to ensure that all of our patients remain
satisfied with the service they receive at the practice. A copy of our complaints handling procedure
is available upon request.

 

Data Privacy Notice for Patients  Last updated 07/08/2024

Mint Dental Care Kingseat processes identifiable information that relates to patients and is therefore required by law to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which protect your privacy and ensure that your personal information is processed fairly and lawfully.

Our Commitment to Patients

Mint Dental Care Kingseat is committed to ensuring that it complies with GDPR and applies ethical principles to all aspects of its work to protect the interests of patients and maintain the confidentiality and security of any personal information held in any form by the practice.

Why Does the Practice Hold Personal Information About Me?

We keep information about you to:

Ensure the dental team can contact you easily
Provide you with the best possible care
Provide care for you under the NHS and enable administration of the NHS

What Personal Information is Kept?

Personal information includes facts (e.g. treatment you have had) and opinions (e.g. any concerns you or your dentist might have about your dental health).  To provide the best possible care for you, accurate and comprehensive personal information is required.  The following records are kept and updated regularly;

Personal information and contact details, including your name, address and date of birth
Dental, social and medical histories (e.g. past or current medical conditions, current medication, the name of your GP)
Results of the examination of your mouth and oral health, including x-rays and clinical photographs
Information about appointments
Any treatments and their costs
Any proposed care, including advice we give to you and referrals you might need
Any concerns you or your dental team might have
Details of your consent for specific procedures
Correspondence with other healthcare workers that relates to your care

 

How is My Personal Information Processed?

Processing of Personal Information

To provide you with appropriate care, we process your personal data for the following purposes:

Your care 

We keep patient records to allow us to provide appropriate dental treatment and care.

Practice Administration

We will use your contact information to let you know when your next appointment is due and we will also send reminders about any appointments that you have booked.

Sharing Relevant Information

To provide you with appropriate care, we might need to share your personal data with:

Another dentist or health professional who is caring for you
Your GP
A dental laboratory
NHS payment authorities
The inland revenue
The benefits agency, if you are claiming exemption or remission for NHS charges
A private dental scheme, if you are a member

In these cases, only the minimum information required will be shared.  Rarely, the law requires us to pass on information to prevent serious crime or injury.  Where possible, we will inform you of requests to share personal information.

Storage and Retention of Personal Information

We keep patient records for adult patients for a minimum of 11 years and for child patients for either 11 years or until the child is 25 years of age, whichever is longer.

We will not keep records for longer than necessary and after they are no longer required, records will be incinerated or shredded.

Personal information is stored on a secure password-protected practice computer system and a manual filing system only authorized practice staff have access to these systems.  Back-ups of this data are made regularly.

Your Right to Access Personal Information

You have the right, under GDPR, to request a copy of the information held on you by our practice.  If you would like to make a request, please ask at reception or send your request in writing to the Practice Manager at the address below:

Mint Dental Care Kingseat

Unit 1, Kingseat Business Park

Kingseat, Newmachar, AB21 0AZ