This policy applies to information collected through the Albania Smile website, Meta/Facebook and Instagram advertising, Instant Forms, social media pages, WhatsApp, telephone, email and other enquiry or patient-support channels.
Who We Are
Albania Smile is a dental tourism and patient coordination service operating from Tirana, Albania. We act as an intermediary between international patients and dental clinics and professionals in Albania, helping with enquiries, dental assessment coordination, communication, appointments, travel-related support and other services connected with organising a dental journey.
For personal information collected directly through Albania Smile's website, advertisements, social media accounts, WhatsApp, telephone or email, Albania Smile determines how and why that information is used for enquiry handling, patient coordination and related support, unless otherwise stated.
Clinical provider
For dental assessments, diagnosis, treatment planning and clinical care, relevant information may be shared with Klinika Dentare "Megadent". Once Megadent receives and uses personal or health information for clinical purposes, the clinic may act as an independent controller for that clinical processing.
Albania Smile contact details
- Email: albaniasmile46@gmail.com
- UK WhatsApp / Telephone: +44 7352 891605
- Albania Telephone: +355 68 671 3905
- Website: www.albaniasmiledental.com
- Instagram: @albaniasmile.al
- Facebook: Albania Smile
- Location: Tirana, Albania
Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with Albania Smile and the services you request, we may collect the following categories of information.
Contact and identification information
- Full name
- Telephone and WhatsApp number
- Email address
- Residential address
- Passport or identification information where reasonably required for bookings, travel arrangements or administration
Enquiry, communication and travel information
- Information submitted through Meta Instant Forms, Facebook or Instagram
- WhatsApp messages, email correspondence and telephone enquiry information
- Preferred contact method and preferred travel dates
- Appointment, flight, arrival, accommodation or transport information where you ask us to coordinate these services
- Records of communications with Albania Smile
Dental and health information
Where you voluntarily provide information for the purpose of obtaining an assessment or proposed treatment plan, we may collect dental photographs, panoramic X-rays (OPG), other dental imaging, information about dental concerns or treatment you are considering, and other relevant health information you choose to provide.
Sensitive information
Dental photographs, X-rays and other health information receive additional protection. We will only collect and use this information where it is reasonably necessary for the stated purpose and where an appropriate lawful basis and additional condition for health-data processing applies.
Payment and transaction information
Payments may be made through a bank or third-party payment provider. Albania Smile does not normally receive or store complete debit or credit card details. We may receive payment status, amount, transaction reference, invoice information or payment confirmation.
Technical and website information
When you use our website or interact with digital advertising, limited technical information may be collected, such as device information, browser information, IP address, website activity and advertising interaction data, where permitted by applicable law and your cookie preferences.
How and Why We Use Your Information
We only use personal information where we have an appropriate reason and lawful basis to do so.
Responding to your enquiry
We use contact details and enquiry information to respond to your request, contact you, explain how the Albania Smile service works, provide requested information and discuss next steps.
Coordinating your dental journey
We may use relevant information to assist with assessment coordination, appointment scheduling, communication with dental professionals, travel planning, patient support and administrative arrangements requested by you.
Preparing a dental assessment or proposed treatment plan
If you voluntarily provide dental photographs, OPG/X-rays or other health-related information, we may use it to arrange an appropriate dental assessment. Where required, we will seek explicit consent before processing or sharing health information for this purpose.
Sharing information with dental professionals
Where necessary for the service you request, relevant information may be shared with Megadent or another authorised dental professional involved in preparing an assessment, quotation or proposed treatment plan. We aim to share only information reasonably necessary for that purpose.
Payments and administration
We may use payment confirmations and transaction information to confirm payments, administer invoices, maintain financial records, resolve payment queries and meet applicable accounting, tax or legal obligations.
Service administration and security
We may process limited personal information where reasonably necessary to protect systems, prevent fraud or misuse, maintain records, resolve complaints, protect legal rights and improve patient-support processes.
Marketing
Responding to an enquiry you have made is different from sending ongoing promotional marketing. Where applicable law requires consent for electronic marketing, Albania Smile will only send such marketing where the appropriate permission has been obtained. You can withdraw marketing consent or ask us to stop promotional messages at any time.
Data Retention, Security and International Processing
How long we keep your information
We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for applicable legal, regulatory, accounting or administrative requirements.
| Category | General retention approach |
|---|---|
| General enquiries | Up to 12 months after the last meaningful interaction, where you do not proceed with treatment. |
| Dental photographs, OPG/X-rays and health information | Normally no longer than 6 months after the last meaningful interaction if you do not proceed, unless a longer period is legally necessary or another lawful reason applies. |
| Patients who proceed with treatment | Relevant clinical information may be retained separately by the treating clinic under its professional and legal record-keeping obligations. Albania Smile may retain coordination records for up to 12 months after completion of its service, unless longer retention is justified. |
| Financial records | Invoices, transaction references and related records may be retained for the period required by applicable accounting, taxation or other legal obligations. |
Information security
Albania Smile takes reasonable organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or destruction.
- Limiting access to authorised personnel
- Restricting access to dental and health-related information
- Using password-protected accounts and systems
- Applying data minimisation and secure storage/communication methods where reasonably available
- Reviewing access to patient information and securely deleting information when no longer required
International processing
Albania Smile operates from Albania and provides services to international patients, including people in the United Kingdom. Information provided from the UK may therefore be transferred to, accessed from or processed in Albania. Some technology providers may also process information in other countries. Where applicable law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we will take reasonable steps to use an appropriate transfer mechanism, contractual safeguard or other lawful basis.
Your Data Protection Rights and Complaints
Depending on the applicable law and the circumstances of the processing, you may have the following rights.
Request confirmation of whether we process personal information about you and, where applicable, obtain a copy.
Ask us to correct inaccurate information or complete information that is incomplete.
Ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances. This right is not absolute where there is a legal or other lawful reason to retain information.
Ask us to restrict the way we use your information in certain circumstances.
Object to certain processing, including direct marketing.
Where applicable, receive certain information you provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and request transfer where technically feasible.
Where processing relies on consent, withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.
How to exercise your rights
Contact us using the details below and provide enough information for us to understand and verify your request. We may need to verify your identity before providing access to, modifying or deleting personal information.
Data protection complaints
If you are unhappy with how Albania Smile has handled your personal information, you may submit a data protection complaint directly to us. We will provide a clear way to complain, acknowledge qualifying complaints within the period required by applicable law, investigate appropriately without undue delay, keep you informed where appropriate and communicate the outcome.
Depending on the law that applies, you may also have the right to complain to the competent supervisory authority, including the Information and Data Protection Commissioner of Albania and, where UK data protection law applies, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Website, Cookies, Advertising and Communications
Cookies and similar technologies
Our website may use cookies, pixels, scripts, tags and similar technologies to operate the website, remember preferences, understand how the website is used and, where permitted, measure advertising performance.
Strictly necessary technologies may be used where an applicable legal exemption permits. Certain technologies used solely to produce aggregate statistical information may also qualify for a legal exemption if all applicable conditions are met.
Advertising, behavioural tracking, cross-site tracking and advertising-measurement technologies are treated separately. Where consent is required by applicable UK law, technologies such as the Meta Pixel or similar advertising tools will not be activated until valid consent has been obtained.
Cookie choices
Where consent is required, our website should provide clear choices such as Accept All, Reject Non-Essential and Manage Preferences. Rejecting non-essential technologies should be as straightforward as accepting them, and users should be able to change or withdraw preferences through Cookie Settings.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram
Albania Smile uses Meta platforms for advertising, communication and lead generation. When you voluntarily submit a Meta Instant Form, we may receive information such as your name, telephone number, email address and answers you choose to provide. We use this primarily to respond to your enquiry, provide patient coordination information and explain relevant next steps.
Information submitted for an enquiry is not automatically treated as consent to receive unrelated promotional marketing. Meta may also process information independently under its own terms and privacy practices.
If you choose to communicate with Albania Smile through WhatsApp, we may use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry, coordinate an assessment, arrange appointments or travel-related support, and communicate about services you have requested. WhatsApp and its provider may separately process information under their own privacy terms.
Dental photographs, OPG/X-rays and other health information are used only for relevant assessment, coordination or treatment-related purposes and are not used for unrelated advertising or marketing. Sending health information through WhatsApp does not constitute consent to promotional marketing.
Email, messages, telephone and direct marketing
Where you ask Albania Smile to contact you, we may communicate by telephone, WhatsApp, email or another channel to respond to your enquiry or provide a requested service. These service/enquiry communications are treated separately from promotional direct marketing.
Where applicable law requires consent for promotional electronic marketing, we will only send it where appropriate consent has been obtained or another legally permitted exception applies. You may ask us to stop promotional communications at any time. We may retain limited suppression information where necessary to respect an opt-out.
Marketing consent
Consent for promotional marketing is separate from consent concerning dental or health information, acceptance of this Privacy Policy, consent to share information for a dental assessment, and a request to be contacted about an existing enquiry.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services, processing activities, technologies, service providers, legal or regulatory requirements, or privacy and security practices. The Last Updated date identifies the latest version. Where a material change significantly affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to provide additional notice where appropriate.