Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 10, 2026

Marks Orthodontics ("Marks Orthodontics," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit marksortho.com, submit a website form, request a consultation, interact with our online content, or otherwise communicate with us about the website (collectively, the "Website").

This Policy applies to Website-related information. It does not describe every way we handle patient records in connection with orthodontic care, billing, or healthcare operations.

1. Healthcare Privacy and Our Notice of Privacy Practices

Marks Orthodontics is an orthodontic practice. Information that we receive or maintain as a healthcare provider may be protected health information ("PHI") under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") or other health-privacy laws. When HIPAA applies, our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, rather than this Website Privacy Policy, describes how we may use and disclose PHI and how patients may exercise HIPAA rights.

This Policy does not replace our Notice of Privacy Practices. If this Policy conflicts with the Notice of Privacy Practices concerning PHI, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls to the extent required by law. You may request a copy by contacting our office.

The Website, ordinary email, and general contact forms are not appropriate for urgent matters. Please limit submissions to information reasonably necessary for your request. Do not include detailed medical histories, Social Security numbers, financial account information, or other highly sensitive information in a general message or ordinary email. Call our office for guidance about an appropriate communication channel.

2. Information You Provide

We may collect information that you choose to provide, including:

• Contact information, such as your name, email address, telephone number, home or mailing address, and preferred method of contact;
• Consultation information, such as the prospective patient's first and last name, date of birth, gender, parent or guardian name, whether the patient recently saw a dentist, current dentist's name, referral source, and additional information included with a consultation request;
• Appointment and service information, such as requested services, preferred appointment timing, questions about braces, clear aligners, retainers, emergencies, financing, insurance, or treatment;
• Communications, including contact-form submissions, emails, calls, text messages, voicemails, feedback, and records of our responses;
• Insurance, billing, or payment-related information that you provide through an approved channel or an external service such as OrthoFi. External payment or account providers process information under their own notices and terms; and
• Other information you voluntarily provide.

If you provide information about another person, including a child or dependent, you represent that you are authorized to do so. Parents and legal guardians may submit information on behalf of minors in their care.

3. Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Website, we and our service providers may automatically collect information such as:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address and approximate location derived from it;
• Browser type, device type, operating system, language, screen size, and device or advertising identifiers;
• Pages viewed, links clicked, form interactions, referring and exit pages, date and time of access, session duration, and navigation paths;
• Search terms, campaign information, traffic source, and interactions with advertisements or social-media content;
• Call source, campaign attribution, call time, duration, and related call-routing information where call tracking is used;
• Website performance, error, fraud-prevention, security, and diagnostic information; and
• Cookie, pixel, local-storage, and similar technology identifiers.

The information available to us depends on your device, browser, settings, consent choices, and the technologies active on the page you visit.

4. Information From Other Sources

We may receive information from parents or guardians, dentists and other healthcare providers, referral sources, insurers, service providers, advertising and analytics partners, social-media platforms, review sites, publicly available sources, and other people who contact us on your behalf. Healthcare information received in connection with care may be governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices.

5. How We Use Information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to questions, messages, consultation requests, and appointment inquiries;
• Contact you about a request by telephone, email, or text;
• Verify information, coordinate with a parent or guardian, and prepare for an initial consultation;
• Communicate with a patient's dentist, insurer, or another party when authorized or otherwise permitted by law;
• Provide, coordinate, bill for, and support orthodontic services;
• Administer patient, billing, payment-plan, and business relationships;
• Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Website and our services;
• Measure Website traffic, understand visitor interests, evaluate advertising, and improve campaigns;
• Attribute inquiries or telephone calls to a source or campaign;
• Personalize content and remember preferences where appropriate;
• Protect against spam, fraud, misuse, security threats, and unlawful activity;
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims and enforce agreements;
• Comply with healthcare, legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and recordkeeping obligations; and
• Carry out another purpose disclosed when information is collected or with your consent.

Submitting a Website form asks us to respond to that request. It does not by itself authorize automated or prerecorded marketing calls or texts when separate consent is required by law.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small files stored on a browser or device. The Website and its providers may use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, and similar technologies to operate forms, prevent abuse, remember settings, measure traffic, understand interactions, attribute inquiries, and evaluate or deliver advertising.

Based on the Website configuration reviewed as of the Last updated date, the Website uses or may use:

• Webflow for Website hosting, content, forms, and related functionality;
• Google Tag Manager to manage Website tags;
• Google Analytics to measure Website traffic and usage;
• Google Ads to measure advertising interactions and conversions and support advertising;
• Meta Pixel to measure activity and support advertising on Meta services such as Facebook and Instagram;
• CallRail for call tracking, routing, analytics, and campaign attribution;
• Google reCAPTCHA to help protect forms from spam and abuse;
• Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts (Typekit) to deliver Website fonts; and
• YouTube, Google Maps, and social-media features or links that may connect to external services.

These providers may collect or receive an IP address, device and browser information, page activity, cookie or advertising identifiers, referral information, and related technical data under their own terms and privacy notices. Provider information is available from Google, Meta, CallRail, Webflow, and Adobe. Google reCAPTCHA is subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

7. Cookie and Advertising Choices

You can use browser settings to block or delete cookies. Doing so may affect Website features. Provider-specific controls may include:

• Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on;
• Google My Ad Center;
• Meta advertising preferences available through Facebook or Instagram account settings; and
• Industry opt-out tools such as YourAdChoices and the Network Advertising Initiative.

Opt-outs may be browser-, device-, or account-specific and may not stop contextual advertising or essential measurement. Where required by applicable law and supported by our systems, we will process a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, as a request to opt out of applicable sale, sharing, or targeted advertising for the browser or device sending the signal.

8. How We Disclose Information

We may disclose personal information to:

• Website and business service providers that support hosting, forms, analytics, advertising, security, communications, call routing, scheduling, data storage, information technology, and professional services;
• Healthcare and payment partners, such as dentists, other providers, laboratories, insurers, claims administrators, payment processors, financing or payment-plan providers, and OrthoFi, when authorized or otherwise permitted by law;
• Parents, guardians, personal representatives, or others involved in care or payment, consistent with authorization and applicable law;
• Advertising and analytics partners, including Google, Meta, and CallRail, as described above;
• Professional advisers, such as attorneys, accountants, auditors, insurers, and consultants;
• Government authorities or other parties when disclosure is required by law or reasonably necessary to protect rights, safety, property, patients, users, our practice, or the public;
• Parties to a business transaction, such as a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or due-diligence process; and
• Other parties at your direction, with your consent, or as otherwise disclosed when information is collected.

Where PHI is involved, disclosures are governed by HIPAA, our Notice of Privacy Practices, and other applicable law.

9. Sale, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising

We do not sell personal information for money. We use analytics, advertising, pixel, and call-attribution technologies. Some U.S. state privacy laws define "sale," "sharing," or "targeted advertising" broadly enough to include certain disclosures of identifiers and Internet activity to advertising or analytics partners, even when no money is exchanged.

Where those laws apply, you may request to opt out by using the controls described in Section 7 or by contacting us with "Privacy Opt-Out" in the subject line. We do not knowingly sell or share for targeted advertising the personal information of children under 16.

10. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to respond to requests, coordinate consultations and care, administer patient and payment relationships, maintain healthcare and business records, resolve disputes, secure our systems, enforce agreements, and comply with law.

Retention periods vary based on the type of information, the relationship involved, legal and professional recordkeeping requirements, security needs, and whether information is needed for an ongoing or anticipated claim. PHI is retained under applicable healthcare recordkeeping requirements and our internal policies. We may retain aggregated or deidentified information that no longer reasonably identifies an individual. Backup copies may remain for a limited period under routine backup processes.

11. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information. No Internet transmission, email, Website form, or electronic storage system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Use care when sending information electronically. If you believe information submitted to us has been compromised, contact us promptly. For sensitive patient communications, ask our office which communication method is appropriate.

12. Your Communication Choices

You may:

• Decline to provide optional information, although we may be unable to respond fully or provide a requested feature;
• Adjust browser settings or use the controls described in Section 7;
• Unsubscribe from marketing email using the link in a message, if provided, or by contacting us;
• Reply STOP to an automated marketing text, if one is sent, or contact us to change communication preferences; and
• Ask us to update your contact preferences.

We may still send non-promotional communications related to a consultation, appointment, care, payment, safety issue, legal notice, or existing relationship.

13. Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and subject to applicable exceptions, you may have the right to request that we:

• Confirm whether we process your personal information;
• Provide access to or a copy of certain personal information;
• Correct inaccurate personal information;
• Delete certain personal information;
• Provide certain information in a portable format;
• Disclose categories of information collected, sources, purposes, and recipients;
• Opt you out of applicable sale, sharing, targeted advertising, or certain profiling; or
• Restrict or withdraw consent for certain processing when consent is the basis for processing.

To submit a request, contact us using Section 20 and describe the request. We may need to verify your identity and authority. If an authorized agent submits a request, we may require proof of authorization and, where permitted, direct verification from the individual.

We will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right. If we deny a request and applicable law provides an appeal right, you may appeal by replying to our decision or contacting us with "Privacy Appeal" in the subject line.

These rights are not absolute. We may retain or decline to disclose information when permitted or required for healthcare, security, fraud prevention, recordkeeping, legal compliance, the rights of others, or another lawful reason. Requests concerning PHI may be handled under the rights and procedures in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

14. Do Not Track

Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" signals, but there is no uniform standard for responding to them. The Website does not currently respond to Do Not Track signals in a standardized way. This is separate from recognized opt-out preference signals described in Section 7.

15. Children's Privacy

Our orthodontic services often involve children, and a parent or guardian may use the Website to request a consultation for a child. The Website is directed to parents, guardians, adults, and general audiences; it is not designed for a child under 13 to use independently.

We do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from a child under 13 without appropriate parental involvement or authorization. If you believe a child submitted information without a parent or guardian's authorization, contact us so we can review the submission and take appropriate action. This section does not limit our handling of patient records as permitted by healthcare law.

16. External Sites, Portals, and Social Media

The Website may link to OrthoFi, Google Maps, Google reviews, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or other external services. We do not control those services. Information you provide directly to an external service is governed by that service's privacy notice and terms.

When you interact with our pages on a social-media platform, both we and the platform may receive information about that interaction. Embedded content may allow the external provider to collect technical or interaction information as if you visited the provider directly.

17. Testimonials, Reviews, Photos, and Media

We use patient testimonials, reviews, photographs, videos, or before-and-after images only as permitted by applicable law and, where required, appropriate authorization or consent. Publicly posting a review directly to a third-party platform makes the review subject to that platform's rules. Please avoid including sensitive health information in a public review.

18. Users Outside the United States

Marks Orthodontics is located in Michigan, and the Website is intended primarily for users in the United States. If you access it from another country, information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your location.

19. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version and update the Last updated date. Changes are effective when posted unless otherwise stated. If required by law, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent.

20. Contact Us

For Website privacy questions, requests, or a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices, contact:

Marks Orthodontics

549 Seminole Road, Suite 101 Norton Shores, MI 49444

Email: admin@marksortho.com Phone: 231-375-0072 Fax: 231-375-0086

Please do not include detailed medical information, financial account information, government identifiers, or other highly sensitive information in an ordinary email.

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