HBF CEO John Van Der Wielen said the opening of HBF Dental in Joondalup signified the insurer’s intent to be there for its members in the moments that matter.
HBF Dental Joondalup is the first of 15 dental centres planned to open across metropolitan and regional Western Australia in the coming years. The next HBF Dental centre located within Morley Galleria Shopping Centre is expected to open in April.
HBF Dental was established in a partnership between the insurer and dental provider Pacific Smiles Group.
“Dental is by far HBF’s most claimed Extras service, so we know having access to high-quality oral healthcare is important to our members,” said Mr Van Der Wielen.
“Our dental centres are available to anyone, not just HBF members, and I would stress that our members will always have choice of where they go on dental.”
Mr Van Der Wielen said the insurer's move into dental would help keep downward pressure on premium increases for its members.
“We have been a proud health insurer for 80 years, and we intend to be around for another 80. In moving from a passive payer to an active participant in health services, such as dental, we are looking to reduce our reliance on health insurance revenue alone and diversify our business.”
HBF said the new dental centre in Joondalup features eight consulting rooms, equipped with the latest dentistry technology such as cone beam computed tomography (CT), enabling high-resolution CT scans to be performed in the centre.
HBF executive general manager and health Dr Daniel Heredia said the centre’s team of dentists and support staff were ready and eager to deliver patients the best of care.
“Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays – we will provide busy families greater access to care on a day that suits them,” said Dr Heredia.
“We are determined to make every patient’s experience with us seamless and as enjoyable as a trip to the dentist can be – from booking an appointment through to treatment and post-treatment care.”
Dr Heredia said HBF Dental centres would largely be based in shopping centres.
“We knew our highly visible location within Lakeside Joondalup shopping centre would attract initial interest and on opening we already had 300 online bookings,” said Dr Heredia.