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, clinician allocation, and clear preliminary guidance prior to your comprehensive clinical consultation.

Denturaa enforces strict regulatory and clinical boundaries. Denturaa operates strictly as an administrative introduction platform and does NOT review, analyze, diagnose, or comment on any clinical issues in your photographs.

All clinical photo evaluations, technical reviews of denture suitability, and subsequent patient outreach are performed exclusively by the registered healthcare professionals (Clinical Dental Technicians and Dental Surgeons) practicing at the host clinics themselves. These clinical professionals review the images, identify any visible issues, and contact you directly via WhatsApp, phone, or email to discuss their findings and schedule appropriate appointments.

• No Platform Diagnosis: Denturaa administrative, customer service, or technical staff do not make clinical evaluations or triage decisions. Your images are forwarded securely and directly to your chosen or nearest local host clinic.
• Review by Host CDTs: Registered Clinical Dental Technicians (CDTs) at the host clinics evaluate the photos for structural wear, suction-fit suitability, and shade dynamics.
• Direct Patient Contact: The qualified clinical staff at the host clinics themselves will contact you to discuss any issues identified and coordinate your physical consultation.
• Direct Clinical Accountability: The treating clinician at the host clinic carries exclusive clinical responsibility and liability for any advice, visual assessments, and treatment suggestions they provide during your contact.

In accordance with statutory healthcare standards and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) CAP Code transparency rules, we expressly advise that digital photos are a preliminary triage tool only and cannot replace a physical, in-person clinical oral health assessment.

Photographs submitted remotely provide a preliminary orientation only and have clear diagnostic limitations that patients must understand and accept:

• Preliminary Triage Tool Only: Digital photos are a preliminary triage tool only and cannot replace a physical, in-person clinical oral health assessment conducted by a qualified healthcare professional.
• 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 (). 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.