Smart Glasses & Wearable Recording Devices Policy
Your privacy, comfort and confidentiality are our highest priority.
To protect the privacy of our patients and staff, Woodbury Park Dental Practice maintains a strict no video or audio recording policy within all clinical and treatment areas. This policy sets out how we ask patients and visitors to manage smart glasses and other wearable recording devices while at the practice, and how we handle situations where recording may exceptionally be appropriate.
With the growing popularity of smart eyewear (such as Meta Ray-Ban glasses, smart lenses and other wearable technology), we kindly ask our patients and visitors to adhere to the following guidelines while at the practice.
- General Guidance
In the Waiting Area: you are welcome to wear your smart glasses, but we kindly ask that any recording, livestreaming or photograph features remain completely turned off.
In the Treatment Rooms / Clinical Areas: to protect medical privacy and ensure our team can focus entirely on your care, all smart glasses must be taken off or switched off entirely before your examination or treatment begins.
This applies equally to staff, contractors and visitors. Any member of staff or patient who is unsure whether a device is compliant with this policy should ask a member of the front desk team.
- When Recording May Be Appropriate
We understand that there may be circumstances where recording clinical advice or information is genuinely helpful – for example, to help a patient remember post-operative instructions, aftercare advice, or a complex treatment plan, or to support a patient who has additional communication or accessibility needs.
Where such a situation arises, recording will only take place following a clear discussion between all parties involved (the patient, the treating clinician, and any other staff present). This discussion must cover:
- Why the recording is considered appropriate or necessary in this instance;
- What, specifically, will be recorded (e.g. verbal advice only, a specific part of the consultation) and what will not;
- Where the recording will be stored, and for how long it will be kept;
- How the recording may and may not be used (e.g. for the patient’s personal reference only, not for publication, social media or any other third-party use, unless separately agreed in writing);
- Who else, if anyone, will have access to the recording; and
- How the recording can be deleted or withdrawn, and by whom.
Recording must not begin until every party present – the patient and all relevant staff – has given their informed consent. Consent must be recorded in writing using the practice’s Recording Consent Form (see attached), which should be signed before recording starts and retained in the patient’s record.
Consent can be withdrawn by any party at any time. Staff also retain the right to decline consent to be recorded, and a patient’s access to treatment will never be affected by a decision not to permit recording.
This provision does not extend to routine, informal or covert recording. Devices must remain switched off in clinical areas unless and until this consent process has been completed.
- An Important Note on Accessibility
We completely understand that some patients use smart glasses or wearable devices as assistive technology (such as real-time text-to-speech, translation or captioning). If you rely on your glasses for accessibility or communication, please let our front desk team know when you check in. We will gladly work with you to find a solution that accommodates your needs while keeping everyone’s information secure.
- Data Protection
Any recording made under this policy is personal data and will be handled in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in line with the practice’s Privacy Notice and Data Protection Policy. Recordings will only be kept for as long as necessary for the agreed purpose and will be securely deleted thereafter.
Thank you for your co-operation and for helping us keep our practice a safe and private environment for everyone.
Policy owner: Alanna Gardiner, Joint Practice Owner and Principle dentist
Date approved: 16 September 2026
Review date: 16 September 2027
