Photo Triage & Remote Assessment Policy

Denturaa (Denturaa) provides an elective digital photo triage and visual pre-assessment service (via WhatsApp, secure web channels, and direct submission). This service allows prospective patients across the UK to share photographs of their natural smile, missing teeth, gum tissue, or existing dentures prior to attending an in-person clinical consultation.

The purpose of photo triage is strictly preparatory: to assess preliminary aesthetic suitability, evaluate visible signs of prosthetic wear, estimate likely treatment categories (such as full acrylic dentures, cobalt-chromium partial dentures, immediate replacement dentures, or implant-supported overdentures), provide approximate fee guidance, and schedule you with the appropriate qualified clinician.

By submitting photographs to Denturaa, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to this Photo Triage Policy, our Privacy Policy, Booking Policy, and Terms of Service.

• Scope: Covers all dental, smile, facial, and prosthetic photographs submitted through WhatsApp, SMS, web forms, email, or messaging channels.
• Applicability: All prospective and existing patients across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, and nationwide hubs.
• Primary Objective: Facilitate efficient pre-assessment, specialist allocation, and clear preliminary guidance prior to your comprehensive clinical consultation.

Denturaa enforces strict clinical governance regarding all patient advice and visual appraisals. All clinical visual assessments, technical evaluations of denture suitability, and professional advisory communications are conducted and supervised exclusively by qualified, registered UK healthcare professionals.

Our clinical triage team is composed of registered Clinical Dental Technicians (CDTs) and registered Dental Surgeons (BDS / LDS) adhering strictly to statutory Standards for the Dental Team (Principles 1 through 9):

• Clinical Dental Technicians (CDTs): Assess edentulous ridge morphology, denture wear, tooth shade, aesthetic smile lines, and prosthetic design suitability.
• Dental Surgeons: Review partial dentition presentations, periodontal health indicators, remaining abutment teeth, and surgical indications for implant-retained prosthetics.
• Administrative Boundaries: Non-clinical patient support and administrative personnel only manage digital transmission, booking slots, and logistics; they NEVER provide clinical diagnoses, prescriptive advice, or clinical treatment recommendations.
• Direct Clinician Accountability: The clinician conducting the triage review or in-person consultation is independently and solely responsible for all clinical advice, assessments, and treatments provided to you.

In accordance with statutory healthcare standards and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) CAP Code transparency rules, we expressly advise that a 2D photograph provides only a preliminary, provisional orientation and can NEVER replace a comprehensive in-person clinical dental examination.

Photographs submitted remotely have clear diagnostic limitations that you must understand and accept:

• No Definitive Diagnosis: A photo assessment does NOT constitute a definitive medical or dental diagnosis, a prescription for medical devices, or a guarantee of treatment outcome.
• Unseen Clinical Factors: Crucial clinical indicators cannot be evaluated from photographs, including: alveolar bone volume and density, periodontal pocket depths, subgingival calculus, mobility of remaining natural teeth, soft tissue pathology or lesions, salivary flow and quality, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) function, and accurate occlusal vertical dimension (bite registration).
• Mandatory In-Person Clinical Assessment: Final treatment suitability, choice of dental materials, prosthetic retention mechanisms, and bespoke treatment plans are confirmed ONLY after an in-person clinical assessment by your designated clinician.
• Fee Estimates: Any cost figures discussed during photo triage are provisional guide estimates only. A formal, itemised written treatment plan with fixed fees is provided following your clinical examination.

Photographs depicting your face, teeth, oral cavity, gums, or dental appliances constitute Special Category Personal Health Data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 (Article 9).

Denturaa and its affiliated clinical network operate under strict data protection protocols and are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as data controllers.

• Lawful Basis (Article 6(1)(b)): Processing is necessary to take pre-contractual steps at the request of the data subject prior to scheduling a dental assessment.
• Special Category Basis (Article 9(2)(h)): Processing is strictly necessary for the provision of health or social care or treatment, carried out by or under the responsibility of healthcare professionals bound by legal and professional secrecy.
• Voluntary Submission: Sending your photographs is entirely voluntary. You may opt not to submit photos and instead proceed directly to booking an in-person clinical consultation.
• ICO Supervisory Rights: You retain the statutory right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk / 0303 123 1113) regarding how your health data is handled.

We respect your privacy and dignity. Photographs submitted for photo triage are treated with the highest degree of medical confidentiality.

We operate an absolute, unequivocal policy regarding the use of your triage photographs:

• Strict Clinical Use Only: Submitted photos are used solely to evaluate your oral presentation, determine treatment indications, estimate costs, and prepare for your consultation.
• NO Unauthorised Marketing or Advertising: We will NEVER publish, share, distribute, or display your triage photographs on our website, social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube), marketing brochures, or promotional advertisements without separate, explicit, signed written consent from you.
• Separation of Consent: Consent to undergo photo triage is entirely separate from marketing consent. If we ever request to use anonymized before-and-after photographs of completed denture cases for educational or clinical portfolio purposes, this will be handled via a distinct clinical photography consent form signed in-person after treatment completion.
• No Third-Party Commercial Sale: Your photographs and personal contact details are never sold, rented, or monetized with advertising brokers or commercial data aggregators.

In full alignment with our Booking Policy (/booking-policy) and Terms of Service (/terms), we advise patients that Denturaa collaborates with independent clinical practices, rented surgery suites, and partner dental companies.

Consultations, examinations, and denture fabrication may be delivered by qualified healthcare professionals who are not directly employed by Denturaa. By submitting your photographs for triage, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Secure Transfer to Treating Clinicians: Your triage photographs, smile goals, and accompanying notes will be securely shared with the independent Clinical Dental Technician (CDT) or Dental Surgeon assigned to conduct your assessment and treatment.
• Host Dental Practices & Rented Surgeries: Where your consultation takes place at a partner practice or rented surgery room, authorized clinical staff may access triage images to prepare surgery equipment and update clinical intake records.
• Registered Dental Laboratories: If required for pre-manufacturing evaluation, photographs may be reviewed by certified dental technicians and laboratory prosthetic designers manufacturing your custom medical devices.
• Clinician Responsibility: The treating clinician remains independently and solely responsible for all diagnostic decisions, clinical advice, prescriptions, and prosthetic treatments provided.
• Commercial Introductions: Denturaa may receive an introduction fee or commission from partner clinics or practitioners for introducing patients and facilitating appointments.

Our primary photo triage channel is our dedicated clinical WhatsApp service (+44 7904 051607). WhatsApp messages and media files benefit from end-to-end encryption using the Signal protocol, ensuring that messages are readable only by you and our authorized triage receiving terminal.

Upon receipt at our clinical coordination centre, photographs are transferred to secure, access-controlled healthcare management databases:

• Access Controls: Only registered clinicians and certified triage coordinators with multi-factor authentication (MFA) have access to clinical photo storage.
• Encrypted Storage: Clinical files are stored within UK/EEA-based encrypted data storage adhering to NHS Information Governance and ISO 27001 standards.
• Device Security: WhatsApp receiving terminals are secured with biometric authentication, remote wipe capabilities, and automatic screen locking.
• Patient Device Warning: We advise patients to ensure their own mobile devices are PIN-protected and that they do not share sensitive images over public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

We retain triage photographs in strict accordance with statutory UK healthcare record retention schedules and UK GDPR principles:

• Attending Patients: If you attend an in-person consultation and proceed with treatment, your triage photographs form part of your permanent dental clinical record and are retained for a minimum of 11 years following treatment completion (in accordance with Department of Health and Social Care / NHS Dental Records Management guidelines).
• Non-Attending Inquiries: If you submit photographs for triage but do not attend a consultation or proceed with care, your photos and chat media are permanently deleted from our active triage systems within 90 days.
• Right to Erasure (Article 17): You have the right to request the deletion of your pre-consultation triage photographs at any time before they become part of a formal in-clinic statutory health record by emailing contact@denturaa.com.
• Subject Access Requests (Article 15): You may request a complete copy of all photographs and personal data held about you free of charge within one calendar month.

To enable our Clinical Dental Technicians and Dental Surgeons to give you the most accurate pre-assessment feedback, please follow these simple photographic guidelines:

• 1. Lighting: Stand facing a window with bright, natural daylight. Avoid harsh camera flashes or dark indoor lighting.
• 2. Natural Relaxed Smile: Take a straight-on photo of your natural smile showing how much of your teeth and gums are visible when smiling comfortably.
• 3. Open Bite View: Take a close-up photo with your lips parted and teeth slightly apart so the edges of upper and lower teeth or missing spaces are visible.
• 4. Existing Dentures (if applicable): If you currently wear dentures, take one photo wearing them, and one photo of the dentures resting clean and dry on a white paper towel (showing both the tooth side and the fitting surface).
• 5. SAFETY WARNING: Never use kitchen utensils, metal cutlery, sharp objects, or harmful tools to retract your lips or cheeks. Simply use clean fingers or smile widely.

Denturaa photo triage is strictly an elective, non-emergency advisory service designed for scheduled cosmetic and functional denture solutions. It is NOT an emergency triage or acute medical service.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, DO NOT wait for a photo reply:

• Rapidly spreading facial, eye, or neck swelling
• Difficulty swallowing, opening your mouth, or breathing (airway compromise)
• Uncontrollable intraoral bleeding following trauma or extraction
• Severe acute dental pain unresponsive to maximum OTC analgesics
• Severe facial trauma or fractured facial bones
• Action Required: Immediately call NHS 111, phone 999, or attend your nearest hospital Accident & Emergency (A&E) department.