Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 5, 2026

Dental Hygiene Development Hub ("DHDH", "we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of our members. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and disclose personal information in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation in Canada.

1. Who we are

DHDH is a private, members-only professional community for verified registered dental hygienists in Canada. The platform is operated from Alberta, Canada. For privacy questions, contact: support@dhdh.ca.

2. Information we collect

Information you provide

  • Account information: name, email, province, password (hashed via bcrypt).
  • Verification: provincial registration number, photo of practice permit/ID. We use this only to confirm your status as a registered hygienist; we do not share registration documents.
  • Profile content: bio, qualifications, goals, mentorship preferences.
  • User-generated content: discussions, replies, messages, social posts, reviews, wage submissions, CE records, shifts, financial entries.
  • Payment information: handled exclusively by Stripe; we never store full card numbers.

Information collected automatically

  • Authentication cookies (httpOnly, secure, SameSite=None) used to keep you signed in.
  • Server logs: IP address, user-agent, timestamps, and request paths for security and abuse prevention.

3. How we use your information

  • To verify your eligibility as a registered hygienist.
  • To operate the community: discussions, messaging, mentorship, events, jobs, CE tracking, shift/finance/mileage tools, wage transparency.
  • To process payments, send receipts, and apply provincial tax (GST/HST/PST/QST) where required.
  • To send you operational emails (account, receipts, replies, security alerts). You can disable non-essential notifications under Settings → Email Preferences.
  • To moderate content using AI (see "AI moderation" below).
  • To detect, investigate, and prevent abuse and fraud.

4. AI moderation

Public-facing posts (discussions, replies, social posts) are scanned by an AI moderator (currently OpenAI's gpt-4o-mini via Emergent's gateway) to flag content that shares patient-identifying information, hate speech, harassment, spam, or otherwise violates community standards. Flagged content is held for human admin review. Private direct messages are not scanned by AI.

5. No patient health information

DHDH is not intended to store patient health information (PHI). Members are expressly prohibited from sharing patient names, identifiers, or any information that could reasonably identify a patient. If you accidentally share PHI, contact us immediately and we will purge the record.

6. Member-content protection

Member-only content (wage data, anonymous posts, clinic reviews) is protected by an invisible watermark that imprints the viewing member's name and email onto the page at very low opacity. This makes it possible to trace any screenshot or copy back to the member who shared it, without disrupting your reading experience. Distributing member-only content outside DHDH is a violation of the Terms of Service and may result in account suspension.

7. Sharing of information

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with:

  • Stripe — for payment processing (Canadian privacy-compliant).
  • SendGrid — for transactional email delivery.
  • OpenAI/Emergent — for AI moderation and the Hygiena AI assistant. Submitted text is not used to train models per Emergent's data policy.
  • MongoDB Atlas — for database hosting (Canadian region).
  • Lawful authorities, when compelled by valid legal process.

8. Data retention

Account data is retained for as long as your account is active. Upon deletion request, we remove personal identifiers within 30 days. Aggregated, de-identified data (e.g. anonymized wage statistics) may be retained indefinitely. Stripe transaction records are retained for 7 years per Canadian tax law.

9. Your rights under PIPEDA

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request correction of inaccurate information.
  • Withdraw consent (which may end your access to the platform).
  • Request deletion of your account.
  • File a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Submit any of the above to support@dhdh.ca. We respond within 30 days.

10. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards including TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit, bcrypt password hashing, JWT-based authentication, role-based access control, and audit logs of administrative actions. No system is perfectly secure, but we treat your data with the care a registered hygienist deserves.

11. Cookies

We use essential cookies only: httpOnly authentication tokens. We do not use third-party tracking or advertising cookies.

12. Children's privacy

DHDH is intended for licensed dental hygiene professionals. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email and an in-app notice at least 14 days before taking effect.

14. Contact

Privacy Officer: Ramneet Sandhu, RDH
Email: support@dhdh.ca

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