1. Purpose

American Urgent Dental uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help us serve patients faster, communicate more clearly, and run our practice more efficiently. This policy explains, in plain language, where AI is used in our practice, where it is not, how your information is protected, and what rights you have when interacting with automated systems.

We believe patients deserve to know when they are interacting with technology rather than a person, and how their information is handled along the way. This policy is our commitment to that transparency.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all AI-assisted tools used by American Urgent Dental in connection with patient communications, appointment scheduling, website content, marketing, and administrative operations. It applies to interactions through our website (americanurgentdental.com), by phone, by text message, by email, and through any chat or messaging feature we offer.

This policy does not replace our Notice of Privacy Practices, which governs how we use and disclose protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA. Where this policy and the Notice of Privacy Practices overlap, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls.

3. How We Use AI

3.1 Appointment scheduling and routine communications

We use an AI-powered assistant to help handle appointment requests, confirmations, reminders, and routine questions about hours, location, insurance acceptance, and services. This assistant answers calls to our office, and it may also respond to messages submitted through our website or messaging channels. Its role is limited to administrative and logistical support. It does not provide medical or dental advice, and it does not make clinical decisions.

If the assistant cannot resolve your request, or if your request involves anything beyond routine scheduling and logistics, it hands the matter to a member of our human staff, who will follow up with you.

To speak with a person directly, email us at contact@americanurgentdental.com. Because our phone line is answered by the AI assistant, email is the fastest way to reach a member of our staff, and a person from our office will contact you directly. Please include your name and the best number to reach you.

3.2 Website and educational content

Some of the educational content on our website, including blog articles about dental topics and emergency dental care, is drafted with the assistance of AI writing tools. Every piece of clinical or educational content published on our website is reviewed and approved by our dentist before publication. AI helps us produce content efficiently; it does not replace professional judgment about what that content says.

Educational content on our website is general information only. It is not a diagnosis, not a treatment recommendation, and not a substitute for an examination. If you have a question about your own care, email us at contact@americanurgentdental.com and a member of our staff will get back to you. If you have a dental emergency, see Section 4.

3.3 Administrative and operational tools

We use AI-assisted software for internal administrative tasks such as drafting correspondence, organizing practice information, and improving our website. Where these tools are used in workflows that could involve patient information, we use only services covered under a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (see Section 5) or systems that run locally on hardware we own and control.

3.4 Clinical support tools

If we use AI-assisted software in connection with imaging or record-keeping, it functions only as a support tool for our clinical team. All diagnoses, treatment plans, and clinical decisions are made by a licensed dentist. No AI system at our practice diagnoses conditions, prescribes treatment, or communicates clinical findings to patients on its own.

4. What AI Does Not Do at Our Practice

To be explicit, AI systems at American Urgent Dental do not:

• Diagnose dental or medical conditions.
• Determine or recommend treatment.
• Triage emergencies in place of a human.
• Make decisions about billing disputes, insurance appeals, or patient dismissals.
• Send you marketing messages you have not consented to receive.
• Sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency — difficulty breathing or swallowing, uncontrolled bleeding, or rapidly spreading facial swelling — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not rely on any automated system, including our phone assistant, chat, or messaging channels, for emergency care.

Our phone assistant can get an urgent dental visit on the schedule, but it does not triage, diagnose, or give clinical advice. If you need to reach a person at our office rather than the assistant, email contact@americanurgentdental.com and a member of our staff will contact you directly.

5. Privacy, HIPAA, and Data Handling

Protecting patient information is a legal obligation and a core value of this practice. Our approach:

HIPAA-eligible services only for PHI. When AI tools may process protected health information, we use only services offered under a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the vendor, as required by HIPAA. Cloud AI processing involving PHI is conducted exclusively through HIPAA-eligible infrastructure covered by such agreements.

Local processing where practical. For some tasks, we run AI models on computers physically located in and controlled by our practice, so that data never leaves our own systems.

No PHI in consumer AI tools. Staff are prohibited from entering patient names, records, images, or any other identifiable patient information into consumer AI chatbots or any AI service not covered by a BAA.

Data minimization. Automated systems are given access only to the information they need to perform their function. Our scheduling assistant, for example, works with contact and appointment details, not your full dental record.

Website visitors. Our website is a static informational site. Interacting with our published content does not transmit your health information to AI systems. If you submit information through a contact or booking form, it is handled according to this policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices.

6. Text, Email, and Phone Communications

We may send appointment confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups by text message or email, some of which are generated or scheduled by automated systems. By providing your phone number or email address, you consent to receive these practice-related communications. Message and data rates may apply for texts. You may opt out of text reminders at any time by replying STOP or by contacting our office, and you may opt out of email communications using the unsubscribe link or by contacting us directly.

Standard text messaging and email are not fully secure channels. Please do not send detailed health information, images of your mouth or teeth, insurance card photos, or payment card numbers through unsecured text or email unless we have directed you to a secure method. For anything sensitive, ask us for a secure method before sending it.

7. Transparency and Your Rights

When you interact with our practice, you have the right to:

Know when you're talking to AI. Automated assistants used by our practice are identified as such. If you are ever unsure whether you are communicating with a person or a system, ask — the answer will be honest.

Reach a human. You may request a human staff member at any time, for any reason, and we will accommodate that request. Because our phone line is answered by our AI assistant, the way to reach a person directly is to email contact@americanurgentdental.com — a member of our staff will then contact you. You may also ask the assistant to have a person get in touch with you. No service at our practice is conditioned on your willingness to interact with an AI system.

Opt out of AI usage. If you prefer that AI-assisted systems not be used in your communications with our practice, email us at contact@americanurgentdental.com ahead of your visit to the office. A staff member will then contact you directly to handle your scheduling and any questions personally.

Ask questions about this policy. We will explain, in plain terms, how any of our automated systems handles your information.

Report a problem. If an automated message or response from our practice seems wrong, inappropriate, or concerning, please tell us. We review these reports and correct issues promptly.

8. Accuracy and Limitations

AI systems can make mistakes, including confidently stated ones. We design our use of AI to keep humans responsible for anything that matters: clinical content is dentist-reviewed, scheduling actions are verifiable and correctable by staff, and automated messages follow templates we control. If an automated system ever gives you information that conflicts with what our staff or dentist tells you directly, the human guidance controls. Appointment times, fees, and insurance details are confirmed by our office, and our staff's confirmation is authoritative.

9. Staff Responsibilities and Governance

All team members are trained on this policy. Internally, we maintain the following rules: AI tools are approved by the practice owner before use in any patient-facing or PHI-adjacent workflow; vendor agreements, including BAAs where required, are verified before deployment; automated systems are monitored, and their outputs are periodically reviewed for accuracy and tone; access to systems containing patient information is limited to authorized personnel.

We periodically re-evaluate the AI tools we use as technology and regulations evolve, and we retire or replace tools that no longer meet our standards.

10. Third-Party Platforms

Our practice maintains profiles on third-party platforms such as Google, Instagram, and YouTube. Those platforms operate their own AI systems (for example, recommendation and search features) under their own privacy policies, which we do not control. This policy governs only the systems American Urgent Dental itself uses.

11. Automated Access to Our Website

Our website publishes structured, machine-readable versions of our public content to help search engines and AI assistants accurately represent our practice information, such as our hours, location, and services. This applies only to content we have already published publicly. No patient information is included in machine-readable site content.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as our tools, practices, or applicable law change. The "Last Reviewed" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be posted on this page.

13. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, or requests related to this policy:

American Urgent Dental
2616 Sherwood Hall Lane, Ste 403
Alexandria, VA 22306
Email: contact@americanurgentdental.com
Website: americanurgentdental.com

To exercise any of the rights described in Section 7, including opting out of AI usage, email contact@americanurgentdental.com or contact our office by phone.

This policy is provided for transparency and does not create a contract. It supplements, and does not replace, our Notice of Privacy Practices and Website Privacy Policy.