What are the terms for using this website?

What is this website for?

This site exists to describe Catford Dental, the treatments offered and how to make contact. By continuing to use it you agree to these terms. If you do not agree with them, please stop using the site.

Is anything on this site medical advice?

No. Everything published here is general information about dentistry, written for a general audience. It is not a diagnosis, not a treatment plan and not a substitute for being examined.

Dental problems that look identical in a photograph can need completely different treatment, and nothing on this site can account for your medical history, your medication, your bite or what an X-ray would show. Do not delay seeking care, and do not start or stop any treatment, on the basis of something you read here.

Facial swelling that affects your breathing, your swallowing or the area around your eye is a medical emergency. Go to a hospital emergency department rather than waiting for a dental appointment.

Does using this site make me a patient?

No. Reading this site, submitting an enquiry form, or messaging the practice does not create a practitioner-patient relationship and does not place any dental professional under a duty of care to you. That relationship begins only when you are accepted as a patient and examined at one of the practices.

Information you send through the site is treated confidentially in accordance with our privacy policy, but please do not send urgent clinical questions through a web form. Phone the practice instead.

What is expected around appointments?

Appointment times are reserved for you specifically, and a booking is a commitment on both sides. If you cannot attend, let the practice know as far in advance as you reasonably can so the time can be offered to someone else.

Late arrival may mean your appointment has to be shortened or rebooked, because the time booked after yours belongs to another patient. Repeated missed appointments without notice may result in a fee or in the practice declining to make further bookings.

How do fees and medical aid work?

Fees depend on what treatment is actually needed and are quoted after an examination. No prices appear on this site, and any figure discussed before an examination is an estimate rather than a quotation. All fees are in South African Rand.

Where you are a member of a medical aid scheme, the practice may submit a claim on your behalf as a convenience. That does not transfer the debt. Your agreement about cover is between you and your scheme, and you remain responsible for any amount your scheme does not pay — including shortfalls, co-payments, amounts falling outside your benefits and anything rejected because a benefit is depleted.

Check your own cover before treatment. The practice cannot confirm what your scheme will pay.

What may I do with the content on this site?

All content on this site — text, images, graphics, logos and the underlying code — is owned by the practice or its licensors and is protected by South African and international intellectual property law.

You may view pages, and print or download extracts, for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not reproduce, republish, sell, adapt, reverse engineer or redistribute any part of the site for commercial purposes without prior written permission from the practice. Using the site grants you no licence or ownership in any intellectual property.

You also agree not to use the site unlawfully, to attempt to gain unauthorised access to it, or to interfere with its operation or security. If you are using a device you do not own, you are taken to have the owner’s permission to do so, and any data or connection costs incurred are yours.

Links to other websites

The site may link to sites we do not operate, such as map, booking and social platforms. Those links are provided for convenience. We do not control their content or their privacy practices and take no responsibility for them.

What is the practice liable for?

The site is provided as it stands. We take reasonable care to keep it accurate and available, but we do not warrant that it is complete, current, uninterrupted or free of errors, and clinical understanding changes over time.

To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, the practice, its dental professionals and its staff are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, this website — including indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that may not lawfully be limited, including under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, and nothing here limits the practice’s responsibility for the clinical care it actually provides to its patients.

Which law applies?

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and you consent to the jurisdiction of the South African courts in respect of any dispute arising from the site or from these terms.

We may change these terms from time to time. The version published on this page is the one that applies, and continuing to use the site after a change means you accept it.

Who do I contact about these terms?

Questions about these terms can be sent to Nozipho Nuxmalo, Practice Manager, at info@catforddental.co.za, or raised through the contact page.