Privacy Policy

The Ontario Association of Orthodontists (“OAO”, “we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, how we send email and other electronic messages, and the choices you have.

Effective date: October 30, 2026

Our commitment and PIPEDA

OAO is a not-for-profit professional association with its head office in Toronto, Ontario. We handle personal information in keeping with the ten fair information principles of Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA): accountability; identifying purposes; consent; limiting collection; limiting use, disclosure and retention; accuracy; safeguards; openness; individual access; and challenging compliance. We apply these principles to all of the personal information we hold, whether or not a particular activity is legally subject to PIPEDA.

OAO does not provide patient care, and we do not ask for or want personal health information about patients. Please do not send us health information through our website or forms.

Accountability

The OAO Board of Directors is responsible for this policy and has designated a Privacy Officer to oversee our compliance with it. Our staff, volunteers, directors and service providers who handle personal information on our behalf are required to protect it. You can reach the Privacy Officer using the contact details at the end of this policy.

What we collect and why

Members and applicants

When you apply for, renew or manage an OAO membership we collect information such as your name, contact details, practice name and locations, professional registration with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) or another regulator, membership class, education and graduation details, and payment information. For student members we also collect confirmation of enrolment from your program director.

We use this information to:

  • confirm your eligibility for membership under the OAO By-laws and keep the register of members in good standing that the By-laws require;
  • process dues, assessments and other payments, and issue receipts;
  • give you access to the members area of this website;
  • send you notices of meetings, elections, votes and other association business;
  • list your practice in the public Find an OAO Orthodontist directory (see below); and
  • keep you informed about OAO courses, events and member benefits (see Email and electronic messages below).

Find an OAO Orthodontist directory

To help the public find a specialist, the directory shows each listed member’s name, practice name, practice address, telephone number and website. Members can review and update their practice locations at any time in the members area under My Practice Locations, or ask us to remove a listing.

When you search the directory, the address you type, or your device’s location if you choose to share it, is used only to find nearby orthodontists. We do not link searches to you or keep a record of who searched.

Event and course registration

When you register or buy tickets for an OAO event or course we collect the attendee’s name and contact details and any information the registration form asks for (for example, dietary or accessibility needs). We use it to manage the event, send confirmations and updates, and keep attendance and continuing education records.

Contact form and enquiries

If you contact us by form, email, phone or mail we collect your name, email address and anything you choose to include in your message, and use it only to respond to you and keep a record of the enquiry.

Marketplace listings

Members who post a marketplace listing (for example, a job posting or equipment for sale) provide the listing details and the contact information they want to share. A short teaser of each listing is public; the full details and contact information are visible only to signed-in members. Listings are removed automatically when they expire.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, our site and hosting providers automatically receive technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit and the referring site. We use this to run, secure and improve the site. Our use of cookies and Google Analytics is explained in our Cookie Policy.

Consent

We collect, use and disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent, except where the law permits or requires otherwise. By applying for membership, registering for an event or submitting a form you consent to the uses described in this policy for that purpose. We ask for express consent before sending you commercial electronic messages where the law requires it. You can withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice; we will explain the likely consequences, for example that we cannot maintain your membership without the information needed to administer it.

How we share information

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information. We share it only:

  • with service providers who help us operate, under agreements that require them to protect it and use it only for the services they provide to us. These include our membership and dues platform (LoopDues), our payment processor for event tickets (Stripe), our website hosting and content delivery providers (including Cloudflare), Google (Analytics and Maps), and our email providers;
  • in the public directory and member-to-member features described above;
  • with the Canadian Association of Orthodontists, the RCDSO or other organized dentistry bodies where you have asked us to, or where needed to verify membership eligibility; and
  • where required or permitted by law, for example in response to a court order.

Our membership and dues platform, LoopDues, stores member data exclusively in Canada. Some of our other service providers, such as those for event payments, analytics, maps and content delivery, may process information outside Canada, including in the United States. While it is there it may be accessible to courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of that country.

Email and electronic messages (CASL)

We send email and other electronic messages in compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). We send two kinds of messages:

  • Association and service messages. These include membership confirmations and renewal reminders, receipts, event registration confirmations and updates, password resets, and notices of meetings, elections and votes sent under the OAO By-laws. We send them as needed to provide the service, and you cannot opt out of them while you remain a member or registrant.
  • Promotional messages. These include newsletters that promote OAO courses, events and programs, and information about member benefits or offers from OAO sponsors. They are “commercial electronic messages” under CASL, and we send them only with your consent.

How we get your consent

  • Express consent. When you sign up for our mailing list, or tick a box agreeing to receive messages from OAO when you join, renew or register for an event, you give express consent. It lasts until you withdraw it.
  • Implied consent. CASL allows us to send promotional messages to people with whom we have an existing relationship: while you are an OAO member and for two (2) years after your membership ends, for two (2) years after you buy an event ticket or course registration from us, or for six (6) months after you make an enquiry. We may also rely on implied consent where you have published your business email address without saying you do not want messages, and our message relates to your professional role. When implied consent expires we stop sending promotional messages unless you have given express consent.

We keep records of how and when consent was obtained. Every promotional message identifies OAO as the sender, includes our mailing address and contact information, and has a free unsubscribe link that works for at least sixty (60) days after the message is sent.

Unsubscribing

You can unsubscribe from OAO promotional messages at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any message, or by emailing [email protected] with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. We process requests promptly, and in any event within ten (10) business days. Unsubscribing does not stop association and service messages related to your membership or registration.

Sponsors and member contact information

OAO does not sell, rent or share its member or mailing lists with sponsors or other third parties for their own marketing. Any sponsor information we send comes from OAO and follows this policy. Member contact information made available through OAO, including in the members area and the directory, may not be used to send commercial electronic messages without the recipient’s consent (see our Terms of Use). You can learn more about CASL at fightspam.gc.ca.

Limiting collection, use and retention

We collect only what we need for the purposes above, and use it only for those purposes unless you agree otherwise or the law requires it. We keep personal information only as long as it is needed for those purposes or to meet legal, accounting and governance requirements. As a general guide:

  • financial records, including dues, payments, receipts and event ticket purchases, are kept for seven (7) years to meet accounting and tax requirements;
  • operational records, including membership records after a membership ends, event registration details and contact form enquiries, are kept for two (2) ;
  • marketplace listings are removed when they expire; and
  • analytics data is kept in aggregate in Google Analytics for no more than fourteen (14) months.

When information is no longer needed we securely delete, destroy or anonymize it.

Accuracy

We try to keep personal information accurate, complete and up to date for the purposes it is used for. Members can update their profile and practice locations in the members area. OAO will contact members directly, by email or mail, if we need updated information. We will not ask you to update your information through a third-party website you do not recognize; if you receive a message like that which appears to be from OAO, please contact us.

Safeguards

We protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to its sensitivity, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections, password-protected accounts, access limited to staff, directors and providers who need it, and secure storage of paper records. We do not store payment card numbers on our website; payments are processed directly by our payment providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If a breach of security safeguards involving personal information under our control creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify the affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and keep a record of the breach, as the law requires.

Your right to access and correct your information

You may ask to see the personal information we hold about you, how it has been used and to whom it has been disclosed, and ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate or incomplete. Send your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. We will respond within thirty (30) days, or tell you if we need more time and why. In limited cases the law allows or requires us to refuse access, for example where the information would reveal personal information about someone else; if so we will tell you why.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about this policy or our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Anthony Nijmeh, Privacy Officer
Ontario Association of Orthodontists
1370 Don Mills Rd., Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario M3B 3N7
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 416 490 8414 | Toll-free: 1 888 788 4898

We will investigate every complaint and, if it is justified, take appropriate steps, including changing our practices. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (1-800-282-1376).

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be posted on this page with its effective date. We will tell members about significant changes.

Related: Terms of Use · Cookie Policy