Broadening Horizons - Horizon Pro Dental Testimonial

TESTIMONIAL

Broadening Horizons Horizon Pro Dental is on the giving and receiving end of a seamless customer experience

By Danny Chan

Formerly known as Rodda Dental, Horizon Pro Dental is a trusted laboratory that provides quality denture and prosthetic services to the diverse patient communities – spanning inner-city suburbs, coastal and rural townships – of South Australia.

The family-run enterprise recently added ‘general dental practice’ and ‘oral hygiene’ to their expanding portfolio so that their patients, many of who are long-standing customers, could entrust their dental needs to a single, reliable service provider.

In much the same way, the Roddas wanted Horizon Dental Pro to extend to their loyal clientele a convenient and seamless customer experience, they found those exact qualities in Ivoclar – the company that went from being their trusted lab supplier, to now becoming a reliable equipment vendor as well.

All in the family The family business started in Cowell, a small township located on Franklin Harbour, from which base Peter Rodda would ply his mobile trade initially as a dental technician, and later dental prosthetist, servicing customers all along the peninsula from Port Augusta, through to Port Lincoln, all the way up to the Streaky Bay. The patriarchal figure of the family business, senior Rodda would carry on this gruelling routine – the distance alone required a punishing 8-hour drive, one way – from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s.

The company base then shifted to Adelaide, following which time the inter-generational venture began taking shape as sons Joshua, a trained dental technician, and Caleb, would join the business.

As the vibrant dental outfit grew on the back of quality products, newly honed skills and expanded lab services, the Roddas began to pursue their dream of closing the loop of services.

“We’ve always had the desire to provide a full-service clinic where the dentist, dental technician and prosthetist are able to work hand in hand and play to each other’s strengths,” says Caleb.

The go-to person

Caleb Rodda, Managing Director at Horizon Pro Dental

Located about 45 minutes from Adelaide’s city center, the Woodside clinic was an obvious choice, given the Roddas have been living there for 15 years, and the fact that there wasn’t a dental clinic in the township.

Ivoclar means “zero compromise”

“We discussed our plans with Travis to see how we were going to bring it all together and to make sure that all the elements were in place before making the investment,” Caleb adds.

To the Roddas, Travis Imms has always been the go-to person at Ivoclar for labside supplies. With the recent Woodside investments, the SA/NT Territory Sales Manager now looks after a bigger portfolio for Horizon Pro that also includes chairside equipment.

It is to Travis’s credit, Caleb says, that they purchased several bigticket items from Ivoclar, including: the Stern Weber S210LR dental unit, W&H Lisa Steriliser and Carestream Dental CS 2200 intraoral x-ray system, and Dürr VistaScan Mini image plate scanner.

Making People Smile

Acknowledging the hefty investment, and considering Ivoclar’s marquee name in both lab and equipment supply, Caleb says their association with the company stems from having a ‘zero compromise’ mentality towards customers.

“We like to provide different options and levels of support for our denture customers, because we cater to people from different socio-economic backgrounds,” says Caleb.

“It means that at the higher end, we must provide premium teeth and acrylic materials for our dentures.

“In that regard, you cannot go wrong with Ivoclar, as they provide some of the best quality products when it comes to teeth.”

the opposite side of the dentist’s module – making the unit 100% ambidextrous.

One-stop shopping The reason they bought all their major equipment from one vendor boils down to wanting an easier set-up process, which Caleb can now attest in hindsight, was a brilliant move.

“Moreover, Ivoclar had already indicated that they would take good care of us,” he adds, “which they absolutely did.”

As the old Woodside premise underwent a facelift, the project experienced multiple delays due to products arriving late and tradespeople not meeting their deadlines.

Despite all the construction hiccups, Caleb says the Ivoclar team was “nothing but outstanding” in navigating the entire set-up process.

“Travis was always there. If there were any issues, the Ivoclar team would be there to solve it,” he says.

“They were always proactive and taking the initiative to provide you options and solutions, never leaving you high and dry.

“We couldn’t have entrusted a better team of experts to plan,

Some of the Horizon Pro Dental team trying out the Stern Weber S210LR dental unit

We’re not cutting corners The same philosophy, Caleb continues, was applied to their central equipment purchase.

“I think the dental chair is kind of like an equalizer. With the Stern Weber unit, it shows that we’re not trying to cut corners; that we honour and respect our customers and want the best care for them.”

From the compact footprint to its luxurious upholstery to its versatile left-right configuration, Caleb says the Stern Weber S210LR dental unit is a value-for-money package despite its $30K-$40K price tag.

“You obviously don’t want to replace a chair every few years, you want a robust unit that can go the distance,” he enthuses.

“From the compact footprint to its luxurious upholstery and its versatile leftright configuration, Caleb says the Stern Weber S210LR dental unit is a value-formoney package…”

“Right from the outset, the build quality of the unit gives you that assurance.”

Choosing the ambidextrous unit – fully re-positionable without any need for technical adjustments – the Rodda’s didn’t want to limit the practice to only hiring right-handed dentists, even though their current dentist, Dr Dominique Lung, is right-handed.

The same goes for choosing a future-proof unit that Caleb says is poised to “grow with the business”, in so far as connectivity and upgradable options, including adding outboard gear in the future.

The continental model was selected for operator comfort as the S210LR’s flexible delivery options provide ergonomic comfort with accessible handpieces and a control panel that can be moved to

coordinate and execute the complex equipment installation and integration process. Ivoclar made it totally free of hassles.”

Time-honoured customer relationship It’s been 33 years since Peter Rodda started his solo trade around the Eyre Peninsula to what is now a fully integrated dental practice, lab and denture service business.

The full-service Woodside dental clinic has only been operating for about a month at the time of writing. Yet it is backed by over three decades of the Rodda family cultivating a rock solid customer relationship – the type that could only come with time-honoured consistency.

As stalwarts in the business, the Roddas are leaving nothing to chance in making sure that the people of Woodside now also get to enjoy one-stop family dental services.

Engaging a reliable equipment supplier from the get go was a critical first step.

“Having quality equipment and a supplier you can trust gives us the ability to treat patients the way we’re used to treating them – with utmost care and respect for their wellbeing and treatment outcomes,” Caleb says.

“Throughout the evolution of the business, one thing hasn’t changed: Patients remain at the forefront of our minds.

“That philosophy informs everything that we do at Horizon Pro Dental.”