Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Shafer Smiles

Last updated: October 09, 2025

 

Thank you for visiting Shafer Smiles of Champaign, Illinois (IL) and Mahomet, Illinois (IL). We are committed to protecting the privacy of all visitors to our website, www.shafersmiles.com, (the “Site”). This privacy policy (“Policy”) is designed to help you understand what information we collect, how we use it, what choices you have, and other important information regarding the use of information collected through our Site. Shafer Smiles of Champaign, Illinois (IL) and Mahomet, Illinois (IL) is referred to in this privacy statement as “Shafer Smiles,” “we,” “us” or “our.”

 

If you have any questions or comments about this Policy or the ways in which Shafer Smiles uses the information we collect online, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information provided in the Contact Us section at the bottom of this statement.

Scope & Application

This Policy applies to information collected through the Site and also applies to information shared with us by our approved partners and other third-party sources.

 

This privacy statement does not apply to information collected from you offline or through websites and other online services that do not display or link to this Policy, including third-party websites to which our Site may link.

Collection and Use of Information

You can access and browse our Site at any time without providing any personally identifying information. We do not collect information that would personally identify you unless you choose to provide it.

 

We collect and combine information about you, how you engage with our Site, and the devices you use to view and interact with our Site for the legitimate purposes described below. This includes information you provide to us in connection with your use of the Site and information collected automatically when you view and interact with our Site.

Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you provide directly to us, such as when you create or modify your account or user preferences, submit a form requesting information or an appointment, sign up for a newsletter, contact us, respond to a survey, use the online content, or otherwise communicate with us. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, insurance information, personal health information (which, to the extent it is considered Protected Health Information under HIPAA, shall be subject to the terms in the Protected Health Information section below), survey responses, user content stored or entered into the forms found in our Site, and other information you choose to provide through use of our Site.

 

The information you provide to us will be used to (i) set up your account (if applicable); (ii) arrange or confirm an appointment with us (if applicable); (iii) if you elect to receive information from us, to provide you with such information; (iv) improve the Site; (v) respond to your inquiries; (vi) to fulfill any other purpose for which you provided it.

 

We may also use the information you provide to us for marketing and promotional activities. We want to keep you updated about our practice and our services and we may use your personal information to send you promotional products and information about Shafer Smiles. We may engage with you through marketing and promotional activities, including sending you marketing communications; online surveys; alerting you about events, webinars, or other materials, and updating you about our relevant products and services. You can opt-out of our marketing activities at any time by using an unsubscribe link in any communication you receive or contacting us using the information provided herein.

 

We will not use your information for any purposes other than as described in this Policy or explained to you at the point at which the information was collected.

Information Collected Automatically

We may also utilize certain third-party products or services (“Third Party Tools”), such as Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google, in order to better understand the use of our Site. These Third-Party Tools may collect information such as how often users visit our Site, what pages they visit, and the websites that referred them to our Site. Further, the Third Party Tools may use the data collected to track and examine the use of the Site, to prepare reports on its activities, and share them with other related services. The Third-Party Products may also use the data collected on the Site to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. The Third-Party Product’s ability to use and share information it collects about your visits to the Site is restricted by each of its own privacy policies and terms of use. Additional information about the Third-Party Tools can be provided by contacting us as set forth below.

 

This website advertises with Google in order to show ads to its visitors. As such, it may collect content and/or information, and that information may be used to personalize ads to you. We abide by Google’s Terms of Service. For more information, please visit Google’s Privacy & Terms.

 

As advertisers on Facebook and through our Facebook page, this website may collect content and/or information from a Facebook user and that information may be used to personalize ads to you. We abide by Facebook’s Data Use Restrictions. For more information, please visit Facebook’s Privacy Policy.

 

When users visit this website, third parties may place cookies on the users’ browsers for targeted advertising purposes. The types of data that may be collected for targeted advertising include, for example, IP addresses, mobile ad id, cookie identifiers, website activity and hashed identifiers derived from email addresses for the purposes of cross-device tracking for targeted advertising. This data may be used by third parties to target advertising on other sites based on the users’ online activity. For more information, please visit AdRoll’s Privacy Policy. Other third parties that use targeted advertising may include platforms that work directly with analytics companies and data management platforms that help to maintain and use data. These companies may, for example, provide targeted content and advertising to users and others on third-party mobile websites and/or apps or other advertising media (such as email, direct mail, and display media).

 

We may automatically collect additional information about your visit to our Site, including pages you visit, your geographic location based solely on your IP address unless otherwise approved by you, promotions with which you interacted, and other behaviors. This information is collected for the sole purpose of improving your overall visit to our Site by providing interest-based content. For example, we may collect information about your geographic location and a health interest, based on topics you have browsed in our Site so that we can promote a physician who may practice close to your location. This data is not shared with any third party. The data may also be used to provide interest-based content for communications for which you have opted in.

 

When interacting with our Site within social media, we may obtain information stored within social media or authorized by you to be collected by us within such social media. This information may include your contact information, email address, friend information, friends, and pages with whom you have an association and other information stored within social media.

 

We may also gather certain information automatically, including but not limited to, internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), operating system, date/time stamp, mobile location, and device type, and/or clickstream data. This information may be linked to other information we collect about you. Cookies, web beacons, flash cookies, and similar technologies serve many important functions that help us serve you better.

Your Control over Information

You have a variety of tools to manage cookies and similar technologies that collect information related to your use of the Site, including:

 

  • Web browser controls to block and delete cookies, or adjust your tracking preferences. To learn more about how to opt-out of Google’s use of cookies, visit the Google Ads Settings page. Alternatively, you can use the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.
  • Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out page to opt-out from receiving third-party advertiser cookies.
  • Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.
  • Control Facebook’s use of interest-based ads through your Facebook account settings, or may visit the customer support page here.
  • For instructions on how to opt-out of receiving targeted (personalized) advertising, click here. Please note you will still see ads even if you opt-out, but they will not be personalized by third parties.
  • To learn more about cookies and similar tracking technologies, and how they can affect your privacy, visit allaboutcookies.org.

 

For more information about the California Residents section of NextRoll’s Service Privacy Notice, click here.

 

Please note that because there is no consistent industry understanding of how to respond to “Do Not Track” signals, we do not alter our data collection and usage practices when we detect such a signal from your browser.

 

Please note, disabling, removing or blocking cookies may turn off some of the features of our Site that make your experience more efficient, and some portions of the Site may not function properly.

Sharing of Information

We may share the information described above as set forth in this Policy or as otherwise described at the time such information is collected from you.

Information Shared by Us

  • Affiliates. We may share information with a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate entity in common control with us. Any organization to which we provide such information is required to keep it confidential and to only use such information in accordance with this privacy statement.
  • Service Providers. In the course of doing business, we employ other companies and individuals to perform a variety of functions on our behalf. For example, we may provide information as necessary (or those companies may collect this information directly on our behalf) to companies that host our Site, manage our appointments and information requests, or send communications on our behalf. These service providers may have access to information about you if it is needed to perform their functions for us, but they are not authorized by us to use or disclose such information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements, and they are required to maintain the information in confidence.
  • Legally Required. We reserve the right to disclose information if required to do so by law or by a regulatory authority. We may also disclose information as part of an investigation or enforcement action relating to improper or illegal conduct in connection with our Site or other services, including, without limitation, any situations that may potentially involve threats to the safety or privacy of any person or misuse of our Site.
  • Sale or Bankruptcy. During the normal course of our business, we may sell or purchase assets. If another entity acquires us or any of our assets, the information described in this Policy may be transferred to such entity. In addition, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, such information may be considered an asset of ours and may be sold or transferred to third parties. Should such a sale or transfer occur, we will use reasonable efforts to try to require that the transferee use such information in a manner that is consistent with this privacy statement.
  • Aggregated and Non-Identified Data. We may maintain and use aggregate data or other non-identified information (i.e., data that does not identify a specific individual), such as usage statistics, device data, online traffic patterns, and user feedback. In addition to using this information for the purposes discussed in this Policy, we may disclose such aggregated or non-identified data to third parties without restriction.
  • Business Partners. We may share your information with our business partners. These business partners may use the information received by them to contact you to offer you certain opportunities, products, services, or promotions. Please note that once your information has been shared with a business partner, it is no longer subject to the control of Shafer Smiles or subject to this Policy.

Protected Health Information

To the extent any personal information you provide to us via the Site (by making an appointment, by submitting a contact request form, or any other method) is considered Protected Health Information (“PHI”) under HIPAA, we will adhere to the following practices for use and disclosure of PHI. Note that this Policy DOES NOT apply to any PHI we may collect from you by any means other than your submitting it via this Site.

 

The privacy practices described in this Policy will be followed by all employees of Shafer Smiles and any third-party service providers that process your PHI on our behalf. Shafer Smiles is the Covered Entity that controls your PHI, and any third party service provider is considered a Business Associate. Whenever PHI is shared with a Business Associate, prior to such sharing Shafer Smiles will obtain a Business Associates Agreement that contractually obliges the third party of abiding by all applicable HIPAA rules and regulations.

 

We typically use the information collected from you via the Sites to answer your questions and otherwise provide the information you request, to connect you with one of our providers, to schedule appointments with one of our providers, and to record any services provided to you. We may also disclose your PHI to courts and attorneys when we get a court order, subpoena, or other lawful instructions from those courts or public bodies or to defend ourselves against a lawsuit brought against us or to law enforcement officials as authorized or required by law.

 

You have the right to request a copy of any PHI we hold about you, to make corrections to this PHI, and to request that we delete your information. You also have the right to be notified in the event of a breach; and we will notify you if your medical information has been “breached,” which means that your medical information has been used or disclosed in a way that is inconsistent with law and results in it being compromised.

 

You are cautioned not to include any PHI in forms you submit via the sites, or to use unsecure electronic communications for any messaging including PHI. If you choose to communicate with us or any of your Shafer Smiles providers via unsecure electronic communication, such as regular e-mail or text message, we may respond to you in the same manner in which the communication was received and to the same e-mail address or account from which you sent your original communication. Before using any unsecure electronic communication to correspond with us, note that there are certain risks, such as interception by others, misaddressed/misdirected messages, shared accounts, messages forwarded to others, or messages stored on unsecured, portable electronic devices. By choosing to correspond with us via unsecure electronic communication, you are acknowledging and agreeing to accept these risks.

 

Additionally, you should understand that the use of email is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Email communications should never be used in a medical emergency.

Security

The security of your information is important to us. We take precautions to protect your information by implementing safeguards to protect the information we collect. But you should keep in mind that no website or Internet transmission is ever completely secure or error-free. PLEASE NOTE: The safety and security of your information also depend on you. We urge you to take steps to keep your personal information safe, such as choosing strong passwords and never sharing your password with anyone else. If you create or receive a password in connection with Site access, please notify us promptly if you believe your password security has been breached.

Contact Us

If you feel that we are not abiding by this Policy or if you have any questions, you should contact us immediately.

 

Shafer Smiles

 

Our Champaign Orthodontics Office 2902 Crossing Ct, Suite A, Champaign, IL 61822

 

Our Mahomet Orthodontics Office 408 S. Division St., Mahomet, IL 61853

 

Phone: 217.356.9595

 

E-mail: [email protected]