Cookie Policy

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, remember your preferences, and provide information to the owners of the site. Cookies set by the website you are visiting are called “first-party cookies.” Cookies set by other websites are called “third-party cookies.”

2. How We Use Cookies

We use only the cookies necessary to run the website and, with your consent, a small number of analytics cookies that help us understand which pages are useful to visitors. We do not use advertising, retargeting, or cross-site tracking cookies.

When you first visit our site you will see a cookie consent banner. Non-essential cookies (analytics) are blocked by default and only loaded after you click “Accept.” You can change your preferences at any time using the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer.

This website is not the system we use to store protected health information. Clinical records are kept separately inside our secure practice management system in accordance with HIPAA.

3. Categories of Cookies We Use

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are required for the website to function. They cannot be switched off in our systems. They do not store any personally identifiable information.

Name	Purpose	Duration	Provider
cookie_consent	Stores your cookie preferences so the banner does not reappear on every page.	12 months	Merlo & Fahrney Dentistry (first-party)
__cf_bm	Cloudflare bot-management cookie. Distinguishes humans from automated bots to protect the site from abuse.	30 minutes	Cloudflare (first-party via mf.idfs.ai)

Analytics Cookies (optional — require consent)

These cookies help us measure how visitors use the website so we can improve it. All analytics data is aggregated and de-identified. IP addresses are anonymized before storage.

Name	Purpose	Duration	Provider
_ga	Distinguishes unique visitors so we can count sessions.	2 years	Google Analytics 4
_ga_<container-id>	Maintains session state for GA4.	2 years	Google Analytics 4

4. Managing Your Preferences

You have several ways to control cookies:

• On this website — click Cookie Settings at any time to review and change your choices.
• In your browser — most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Look for the “Privacy” or “Security” section of your browser settings. Blocking all cookies may prevent some websites from working correctly.
• Do Not Track / Global Privacy Control — we honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. If your browser sends GPC, we treat it as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, even though we do not sell personal information.

5. Google Analytics Consent Mode

We use Google Analytics 4 with Consent Mode v2. Until you actively grant analytics consent, Google Analytics is loaded in a default-denied state and does not set tracking cookies or transmit personal data. Once you consent, we transmit an “update” signal so GA4 begins collecting de-identified analytics. You can revoke consent at any time.

6. Updates to This Policy

If we change the cookies we use, we will update this page and revise the “Last updated” date above. For significant changes we will re-surface the cookie banner so you can review and re-confirm your choices.

7. Contact

Questions about this Cookie Policy? Contact us at [email protected] or call (704) 372-5411.