Privacy Policy

Updated Feb. 24, 2014

Thank you for visiting the website (“Site”) of the Chicago Dental Society ("CDS"). This privacy policy statement ("Privacy Policy") explains our practices for information collected via the Site, how such information is used, the circumstances under which we disclose such information to third parties and the choices you can make about the way we use and share such information. Please take the time to read and understand this Privacy Policy so you can understand how we use your personal information.

When we use the term "personal information" we mean information such as your first name and last name, street address, town or city, state, zip code, telephone number, date of birth, email address and any other information that would allow someone to identify you or contact you. Personal information also includes information about your personal preferences, survey or application responses and your transactions or relationship with us, if you have been a user of the Site or you have provided this type of information to CDS or its affiliates.

We reserve the right to revise this Privacy Policy at any time by updating this posting without advance notice to you. Such revisions shall be effective to you immediately upon posting. We encourage you to check this Privacy Policy and Terms of Use often for updates.

Your continued use of the Site indicates your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and of the collection, use, disclosure, management and storage of your personal information as described herein. This Privacy Policy will remain in full force and effect as long as you are a user of the Site, even if your use of or participation in any particular service, feature, function or promotional activity terminates, expires, ceases, is suspended or deactivated for any reason.

The information we collect

We may collect certain non-personally identifiable information (i.e., generic information that does not identify you personally) when you visit any of our web pages, such as the type of browser you are using (e.g., Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer), the type of operating system you are using (e.g., Windows or Mac OS), and the domain name of your Internet service provider. We also may collect personal information about you when you visit the Site and input information, whether you are registering to use any services, features or functions of the Site, or otherwise in the course of any other exchanges of information, transactions and activities. During registration (and possibly at certain other times to enable your use of other features or functions or for security purposes), you will be required to provide us with certain information about you in order for us to allow you to use the features and functions that we may offer on the Site, such as message boards, electronic mail services, messaging services, registration and member profile pages.

How we use the information

We may use the information we obtain from you, including personal information, to tailor your experience on the Site, to display content we think may be of interest to you, or to let us customize what you see when you visit the Site according to your preferences. We will use the personal information you provide online only for the purpose(s) you have submitted. Examples of using your personal information for the purpose(s) submitted include sending you an email about updates to the Site or about an upcoming event if you have signed up for updates. We also may conduct an occasional survey of our registered users, to see how our Site can better serve you. In addition, we may send to you an email offering products or services that we think you may be interested in.

How we share your personal information

We will not share the personal information you provide except (a) as otherwise permitted under this Privacy Policy (b) if it is for the purpose(s) you provided it; (c) with your consent; (d) as may be required by law or as we think necessary to protect our company or others from injury (e.g., in response to a court order or subpoena, in response to a law enforcement agency request, or when we believe that someone is causing, or about to cause, injury to or interference with the rights or property of another); (e) with other persons or companies or affiliated or related organizations with whom we contract to carry out internal Site operations or our business activities (for example, third-party contractors -- see below); (f) in the event of a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, transfer of control, joint venture or other business combination involving us or our affiliates; and/or (g) to notify you when we make changes to one of our subscriber agreements or this policy. In cases where intended use differs from this policy, we will seek to obtain your consent at the place where the information is collected either by an "opt-in" or "opt-out" method, or by other means, such as sending to you an email. 

Our operations and maintenance contractors sometimes have limited access to your personal information in the course of providing products or services to CDS. These contractors include vendors that provide us with email distribution technology, services, and/or content for the operation and maintenance of our Site. Access to your personal information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary for the contractor to perform its limited function for CDS. We also contractually require that our operations and maintenance contractors 1) protect the privacy of your personal information consistent with this Privacy Policy, and 2) not use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than providing us with products and services as required by law.

Opt Out

If you would like to instruct CDS not to use your personal information as described in this policy, please email the Member Services Department and clearly state your request.

Use and disclosure of anonymous information

We sometimes use non-personally identifiable information that we collect to improve the design and content of our Site and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience. We also may use this information in the aggregate to analyze how our Site is used, as well as to offer you products, programs, or services. We may also share aggregate information with others, including affiliated companies and non-affiliated companies.

Collection of information by linked sites

Our Site may contain links to other Sites whose information practices may be different from ours. You should check the other sites' privacy policies since we have no control over information that is submitted to or collected by them.

International users

If you are visiting the Site from a location outside of the United States, your connection will be through and to servers located in the United States, and all information you provide will be processed and securely maintained in our web servers and internal systems located within the United States. By using the Site, you authorize and specifically consent to the export of your personal information to the USA and its storage and use as specified above when you provide such information to us. This policy and our legal obligations are subject to the laws of the State of Illinois and the USA, regardless of the location of any user. Any claims or complaints must be filed in the USA in the State of Illinois.

How you can access or correct your personal information

For instructions on how you can access the personal information that we have received about you online, or how to correct any errors in such information, please email the Member Services Department.<

How we keep personal information secure

CDS is committed to protecting your privacy. We maintain reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to guard your personal information and while no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure from intrusion, we have used and will continue to use reasonable efforts to ensure the protection of your personal information.

To protect your privacy and security, we may take reasonable steps to help verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. We reserve the right to deny access, use and registration privileges to any user, including without limitation, a registered user, of any services, features or functions of the Site if we believe there is a question about the identity of the person trying to access the user's account or any services, features or functions. If the burden or expense of providing access to your personal information is disproportionate to the risks to your privacy, or if the legitimate rights of others would be violated, we may decide not to provide access to such information. In such cases, we will provide to you an explanation of why access cannot be provided and contact information for further inquiries.

Special note for parents

This Site is not intended for use by children. The Site does not knowingly collect or store personal identifiable information from children.

Transfer of business assets

The personal information you provide is considered a company asset and may be included among transferred assets if CDS, any or all of its subsidiaries or affiliates, or any of their assets is ever acquired by or merged into a third party.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, you may email the site administrator or write to the following address:

Chicago Dental Society
ATTN: Website Administrator
401 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60611