Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

LAVA Dental Studio is a private dental clinic based in Rīga, Latvia. We provide aesthetic and restorative dental treatments and dental tourism coordination services, primarily to patients travelling from the United Kingdom.

Data controller: LAVA Dental Studio, Rīga, Latvia
Email: info@lavadental.lv

Latvia is a member state of the European Union. The processing of your personal data is governed by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679 and applicable Latvian data protection legislation.

2. What data we collect

Information you give us

When you complete the enquiry form on our website, we collect:

• Full name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Your area of dental interest (treatment type)
• Any additional information you choose to include in the message field
• Record of your consent to this Privacy Policy

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website we may collect:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited, time on page, and referring URL
• Device type and operating system

This technical data is only collected if you consent to analytical or marketing cookies via our cookie banner. It is never collected using strictly necessary cookies alone.

Special category data

Information about your dental or health needs constitutes special category data under Article 9 GDPR. We only process this where you voluntarily provide it as part of your enquiry, and we do so on the basis of your explicit consent.

3. How we use your data

We use the information you provide to:

• Respond to your enquiry and arrange your Discovery Call
• Provide information about treatments and pricing relevant to your enquiry
• Send you a consultation summary and personalised treatment plan
• Coordinate your treatment journey (appointments, travel logistics, aftercare)
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations

Where you have given explicit consent, we may also:

• Send you relevant follow-up information or newsletters about dental tourism and our services
• Use analytics data to improve the performance of our website

We will never sell your personal data to third parties or use it for purposes unrelated to your dental enquiry without your separate, explicit consent.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases (Article 6 GDPR):

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): You tick the consent checkbox on our enquiry form and agree to this policy. You may withdraw consent at any time — see Section 9.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): Responding to an inbound enquiry, improving our website, and maintaining basic records of communications. We have assessed that these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
• Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): Retaining records as required by applicable healthcare and financial legislation.

For special category health data: Explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)) — only where you have volunteered health-related information as part of your message.

5. Cookies and tracking

Our website uses cookies. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time via the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer of our website.

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are required for the website to function. They do not collect personal data and cannot be disabled.

• lava_cookie_consent — Stores your cookie consent preferences. Expires after 365 days.

Analytics cookies (optional)

Used to understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it. Only set with your consent.

• Examples: Google Analytics (_ga, _gid). Data is anonymised and aggregated.

Marketing cookies (optional)

Used to show you relevant advertising on third-party platforms. Only set with your consent.

• Examples: Meta Pixel, Google Ads conversion tracking.

You may withdraw consent for optional cookies at any time by clicking "Cookie Preferences" in our footer. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. Who we share your data with

We share your personal data only where necessary:

• Netlify, Inc. — Our website hosting and form processing provider. Netlify receives submitted form data on our behalf as a data processor. Netlify is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For more information see netlify.com/privacy.
• Email and communication tools — We use standard email services to communicate with you. Messages are stored securely.
• LAVA Dental clinical team — Your information is shared within our clinic on a need-to-know basis to facilitate your treatment.

We do not share your data with any other third parties except where required by law (e.g. regulatory authorities, courts).

7. International transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including the United Kingdom and the United States (Netlify).

Where such transfers occur, we rely on one of the following safeguards:

• An adequacy decision by the European Commission (the UK has an adequacy decision for EEA → UK transfers)
• EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
• The EU-US Data Privacy Framework (applicable to Netlify)

You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us at info@lavadental.lv.

8. How long we keep your data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Enquiry data (no treatment): 12 months from the date of your enquiry, unless you become a patient.
• Patient records: 10 years from the date of last treatment, in accordance with Latvian healthcare regulations.
• Cookie consent records: 13 months.
• Financial records: As required by applicable tax legislation (typically 5 years).

When data is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it.

9. Your rights

Under the GDPR (and UK GDPR), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — You may ask us to delete your data where there is no compelling reason to continue processing it.
• Right to restrict processing — You may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability — You may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object — You may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent — Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

If you believe we have not handled your data correctly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Latvia, this is the Data State Inspectorate (Datu valsts inspekcija) — www.dvi.gov.lv. If you are in the UK, you may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk.

10. How to contact us

For any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

LAVA Dental Studio
Rīga, Latvia
Email: info@lavadental.lv

We aim to respond to all privacy enquiries within 5 business days and will always respond within the 30-day statutory period.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.