Privacy Policy
Last updated: May 12, 2026
SPOCS Orthodontics ("SPOCS," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website, our AI-assisted voice line, our web chat widget, and our SMS service; how we use that information; who we share it with; and your rights regarding your information.
1. Information we collect
1.1 Information you provide
- Contact details such as your first name, last name, phone number, and email address when you interact with our AI receptionist.
- Date of birth, if you identify yourself as an existing patient during a verification step.
- Content of your conversations with our AI receptionist, including questions you ask, preferences you share, and assessment responses (e.g., the Smile Assessment).
- Any other information you voluntarily share during a chat or call.
1.2 Information collected automatically
- Call metadata from our telephony provider — including caller phone number, call start/end times, and call duration.
- Message metadata from our SMS provider — including phone numbers, timestamps, delivery status, and carrier error codes.
- Web analytics when you use the chat widget — including session identifiers, IP address, browser user-agent, and page URL.
2. How we use your information
- To answer your questions about SPOCS Orthodontics, our services, pricing policies, and scheduling.
- To verify your identity when you contact us as an existing patient.
- To schedule or manage your appointments and send you confirmations.
- To respond to your inquiries and connect you with our staff when appropriate.
- To operate, maintain, secure, and improve our services.
- To comply with applicable laws and regulations.
3. SMS messaging programs
SPOCS Orthodontics operates two separate SMS messaging programs: a patient transactional program and a staff authentication program. Each program uses a different sending phone number and serves a distinct audience.
3.1 Patient transactional SMS
Used for appointment confirmations and appointment-related follow-ups to patients. The following terms apply:
| Consent | You provide express consent to receive SMS when you give your phone number to our AI receptionist during a voice or chat session for the purpose of receiving an appointment confirmation. |
|---|---|
| Message types | Transactional only — appointment confirmations and appointment-related follow-ups. We do not send marketing or promotional SMS. |
| Frequency | Message frequency varies and depends on your interactions with our service. Typically one confirmation message per booking. |
| Sample message | "Hi Alex, this is Sloane from SPOCS Orthodontics. Your consultation with Dr. Mansour is confirmed for Tue, May 19 at 2:00 PM. Confirmation #ABC123. Reply STOP to opt out." |
| Opt-out | Reply STOP to any message to unsubscribe. You will receive a final confirmation and no further messages from this program unless you opt back in. |
| Help | Reply HELP for support, or contact us using the information in Section 11. |
| Fees | Message and data rates may apply, according to your mobile carrier plan. SPOCS does not charge you directly for SMS. |
| Supported carriers | US mobile carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and their MVNO resellers. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. |
| Sender | Sent via Twilio from the SPOCS practice line, (727) 242-8000. |
3.2 Staff authentication SMS
Used to deliver one-time multi-factor authentication ("MFA") codes to authorized SPOCS staff who access the internal administrative dashboard. Patients are not enrolled in this program. The following terms apply:
| Audience | SPOCS Orthodontics workforce members (the practice owner and authorized administrative staff) who have been granted access to the SPOCS administrative dashboard. Patients and other members of the public are not eligible. |
|---|---|
| Consent | Staff opt in by registering for the administrative dashboard and providing a phone number as a second authentication factor. Use of SMS is optional; staff may instead use a time-based authenticator app (TOTP). |
| Message types | One-time verification codes for sign-in. No marketing, no promotional content, no third-party content. |
| Frequency | As needed for sign-in. Typically zero to three messages per staff member per day. |
| Sample message | "Your Sloane Admin verification code is 123456. It expires in 10 minutes. Reply STOP to opt out." |
| Opt-out | Reply STOP to unsubscribe. Staff may also remove SMS as an MFA method from their account profile at any time, in which case TOTP becomes the required second factor. |
| Help | Reply HELP for support, or contact us using the information in Section 11. |
| Fees | Message and data rates may apply, according to the staff member's mobile carrier plan. SPOCS does not charge for SMS. |
| Supported carriers | US mobile carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and their MVNO resellers. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. |
| Sender | Sent via AWS End User Messaging from a SPOCS-owned toll-free number. This number is dedicated to authentication; it does not contact patients. |
| Data sharing | Staff phone numbers used for MFA are stored in Amazon Cognito and are not shared with third parties for marketing. |
4. How we share your information
We do not sell your personal information. We share information with the following categories of service providers, only to the extent necessary to operate our services:
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Twilio, Inc. | Telephony (voice calls), SMS delivery, and conversational relay. |
| Anthropic PBC | Large language model used by the AI receptionist to understand and respond to your messages. |
| Deepgram, Inc. | Speech-to-text transcription during voice calls. |
| ElevenLabs Inc. | Text-to-speech synthesis for the AI receptionist's voice. |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Hosting (App Runner, RDS), encryption key management (KMS), secrets storage, audit logging (CloudWatch), staff authentication (Cognito), and toll-free SMS delivery for staff MFA codes. |
Each service provider processes your information under its own agreement with us and is bound by contractual obligations to protect it. For healthcare data subject to HIPAA, we execute Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with providers who have access to Protected Health Information.
We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect our rights, or in connection with a merger or acquisition. You may consent to additional sharing at your discretion.
5. Healthcare privacy
If you share protected health information (PHI) during an interaction with our AI receptionist, we handle that information consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") and our Notice of Privacy Practices. The AI receptionist is not a substitute for clinical consultation and should not be used for medical emergencies; please call 911 or (727) 242-8000.
6. Data retention
We retain conversation content and related metadata for the minimum period necessary to operate the service, respond to inquiries, meet legal obligations, and improve our services. Patient records are retained in accordance with Florida dental records law. You may request deletion of your information at any time by contacting us using the details below.
7. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher), access controls, and logging. No system is perfectly secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.
8. Your rights
You may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information, opt out of certain processing, and lodge a complaint with a data protection authority. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@spocsorthodontics.com or (727) 242-8000.
9. Children
Our services are not directed to children under 13. If you are under 18, please only use this service with a parent or guardian present.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top. Material changes will be announced on this page. Continued use of our services after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact us
SPOCS Orthodontics
3200 4th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33704
Phone: (727) 242-8000
Email: info@spocsorthodontics.com