Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective date: October 12, 2026

Download a printable copy (PDF) · Language assistance

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.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the AP Dental practices and South Boston Family Dental listed at the end of this notice. They share this notice and all follow its terms. In this notice, "we," "us" and "our" mean those practices, their dentists, hygienists and staff. "Your information" means health information that identifies you, including your dental records, x-rays, treatment plans, insurance and billing records.

Your rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get a copy of your dental record

You can ask to see or get a paper or electronic copy of your dental record and other health information we have about you. You can also ask us to send a copy to another person or provider you choose. Ask our Privacy Officer or your office. We will provide a copy or a summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee as the law allows.

Ask us to correct your record

You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is wrong or incomplete. Ask in writing. We may say no, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as only at a certain phone number, email or mailing address. We will say yes to all reasonable requests. Regular email and text messages are not fully secure. If you choose to receive information from us that way, we use reasonable safeguards, but some risk remains.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment or our operations. We are not required to agree, and we may say no if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or item out of pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or its operations. We will say yes unless a law requires us to share it.

Get a list of those with whom we have shared information

You can ask for a list, called an accounting, of the times we have shared your health information in the six years before your request, who we shared it with, and why. The list will not include disclosures for treatment, payment and our operations, or certain other disclosures, such as any you asked us to make. We provide one list a year free of charge. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another within 12 months.

Get a copy of this notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically. We will give you a paper copy promptly. This notice is also posted in each of our offices and on our website.

Choose someone to act for you

If you have given someone health care power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. Parents and guardians generally act for their minor children, except where the law gives a minor the right to act on their own. We will make sure the person has this authority before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

You can complain by contacting our Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this notice. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or online at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations below, tell us what you want, and we will follow your instructions.

You have both the right and the choice to tell us to:

Share information with your family, close friends or others involved in your care or in paying for your care. Share information in a disaster relief situation. If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

We never share your information in these cases unless you give us written permission:

Marketing purposes, as defined by HIPAA. Sale of your information. Most sharing of psychotherapy notes. Our practices do not keep psychotherapy notes.

Reminders and information about our services

We may contact you by phone, text message, email or mail with appointment reminders and confirmations, recall reminders, treatment follow-up, billing and payment information, and information about our own services and treatment options. Some of these messages and calls are handled by automated scheduling assistants that work on our behalf. You can reply STOP to any text, use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or ask us to limit how we contact you.

Fundraising

We do not conduct fundraising. If we ever do, we will give you a clear opportunity to tell us not to contact you.

Our uses and disclosures

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

To treat you

We use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: we send your x-rays and treatment notes to an oral surgeon or other specialist you are referred to, or share a prescription for a crown with a dental laboratory.

To run our practice

We use and share your health information to run our practices, improve your care and contact you when needed. Examples: scheduling and confirming appointments, reviewing the quality of care, training staff, and reviewing recorded calls and messages for accuracy and quality.

To bill for your services

We use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: we give your dental insurance plan information about your treatment so it will pay for your services, and we use payment processors to accept your payments.

With our business associates

We work with companies that perform services for us, such as our practice management software, billing, payment, messaging, phone and information technology providers. When these companies need your information to do their work, they must sign a business associate agreement that requires them to protect it and use it only as we allow.

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as: preventing disease; helping with product recalls; reporting adverse reactions to medications; reporting suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence; and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone's health or safety.

Do research

We can use or share your information for health research, under the conditions the law requires.

Comply with the law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director

We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies, including to help identify a person.

Address workers' compensation, law enforcement and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you: for workers' compensation claims; for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies, such as dental boards, for activities authorized by law; and for special government functions such as military, national security and presidential protective services.

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena, as the law allows.

Laws that give more protection

Some laws give certain information more protection than HIPAA, and we follow them when they apply. For example, Massachusetts and Florida law add protections for information such as HIV test results and genetic information.

Substance use disorder records. Our practices are not substance use disorder treatment programs. If we receive records protected by the federal substance use disorder regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 2, those records, and testimony about their content, will not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative or legislative proceedings against you unless you give written consent, or a court issues an order after notice and an opportunity to be heard, as those regulations require. A court order authorizing use or disclosure must be accompanied by a subpoena or other legal requirement compelling disclosure before the requested record is used or disclosed.

Other uses need your written permission

We will not use or share your information other than as described in this notice unless you give us written permission. If you give us permission, you can change your mind at any time by telling us in writing. That will stop future uses and disclosures, but it cannot undo anything we already did with your permission.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing.

For more information see www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the terms of this notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available on request, in each of our offices, and on our website.

Contact our Privacy Officer

Bret Gordon, Privacy Officer
AP Dental, 231 Border Street, Boston, MA 02128
Phone: (833) 722-8833 · Email: compliance@ap.dental

Effective date: October 12, 2026

Practices covered by this notice

Language assistance and accessibility

ATTENTION: AP Dental and South Boston Family Dental provide free language assistance services, such as a qualified interpreter at your appointment and information written in other languages, and free auxiliary aids and services, such as sign language interpreters and written information in large print, audio, accessible electronic formats and other formats, to people who need them to communicate with us. To ask for these services, tell us when you schedule, call (833) 722-8833 (TTY: 711), or ask at the front desk of any of our offices.