Privacy Policy

The (Dentist Flexibility) provides this Web site as a public service. We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you when you visit our Web sites unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do collect some data about your visit to our Web site to help us better understand how the public uses the site and how to make it more helpful. Dentist Flexibility never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to Dentist Flexibility's functions.

Type of Information Collected

When you visit any Web site, certain information about your visit can be collected. Dentist Flexibility automatically collects and temporarily stores the following type of information about your visit:

Internet address and domain from which you visited the Dentist Flexibility Web site

Information about the operating system and browser used

Date and time of the visit

Pages visited

Internet address of the Web site that connected you to the Dentist Flexibility Web site

Words searched

This information is used to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and improve organization, coverage, system performance or problem areas. This information is not used for associating search terms or patterns of site navigation with individual users. When search features offer suggested terms, these suggestions are based on aggregated data only. Dentist Flexibility periodically deletes its Web logs. On occasion, Dentist Flexibility may provide aggregated information to third party entities it contracts with for the purposes of research analysis. Aggregated data cannot be linked back to an individual user.

If your electronic medical record (EMR), patient health record (PHR) or other system links you to Medline Plus, your diagnosis codes or other information, such as medications or procedures names, are sent to our site in order to link you to the most appropriate information. No personally identifiable information is collected in this process. We may review information in order to make improvements to our site and better meet user needs, but such information is reviewed at an aggregated level.

Cookies

When you visit any Web site, it may place a small text file, known as a "cookie" on your computer. The cookie allows the Web site to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected or when you return to that site. The Office of Management and Budget Memo M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies (PDF, 1.03MB), 6/25/10, allows Federal agencies to use session and persistent cookies, defined below.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of Web pages. Cookies from Dentist Flexibility Web pages only collect information about your browser's visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you. While visiting certain Dentist Flexibility sites, you may occasionally encounter a Web page that automatically employs cookies to make it easier to use the dynamic features of these Web pages.

Dentist Flexibility Web sites may use either single session (temporary) or multi-session (persistent) cookies. Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. The OMB Memo 10-22 Guidance defines our use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1 – Single Session." This tier encompasses any use of single session Web measurement and customization technologies.

Persistent Cookies: Dentist Flexibility uses persistent cookies to enhance the Web experience for our users. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to Dentist Flexibility until they expire. The OMB Memo 10-22 Guidance defines our use of persistent cookies as "Usage Tier 2 – Multi-session without Personally Identifiable Information (PII)." This tier encompasses any use of multi-session Web measurement and customization technologies when no PII is collected.

For example, Dentist Flexibility uses persistent cookies to enable a PubMed retrieval system feature called "MyNCBI." The persistent cookie retains user preferences such as search result filters, LinkOut displays, institutional icon links, document delivery services, etc. across user sessions. 

Users may opt out of the persistent cookie selection in their MyNCBI settings at any time. Dentist Flexibility also uses persistent cookies to avoid repeated invitations to take the American Customer Satisfaction Inventory (ACSI) survey. The persistent cookies that block repeated survey invitations expire in 90 days. Dentist Flexibility may employ persistent cookies in other ways consistent with our mission and the OMB guidelines to analyze use patterns and improve our users' experience on Dentist Flexibility Web sites.

How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them at any time from your Web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources at Dentist Flexibility, but may be unable to use cookie-dependent features. Follow these instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers. Please note that by disabling cookies from your Web browser, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from Dentist Flexibility.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

If you choose to send us personal information by email, or by filling out a form on our Web site, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us provide you with information or material that you request. If provided, personally identifiable information is maintained in a database that is regularly purged. Third party contractors may have access to this information in order to provide a response to your question or comment. These contractors are held to strict policies to safeguard the information and provide the same level of privacy protection as guaranteed by Dentist Flexibility. On occasion, we may conduct a study concerning the types of questions sent to us. These studies help us to improve our Web sites in order to make them more responsive to the needs of our users. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party unless required by law.

Links to Other Sites

Some Dentist Flexibility Web sites, such as MedlinePlus, provide links to other Internet sites that provide health information. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

Security

The U.S. Government maintains this site. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we use software programs to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Causing damage to federal computer systems is a violation of U.S. law and is subject to criminal prosecution in federal court. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations, and pursuant to any required legal process, information from Dentist Flexibility Web logs may be used to help identify an individual.