A cosmetic plan can start at either end. It can start with the biggest change on the menu, or with the smallest one that fixes what bothers you and still lasts. Dr. Henry Kim, DMD starts small: bonding before any tooth is cut back, custom take-home trays rather than a high-strength session in the chair, an onlay where a crown would take more tooth than the problem needs. You see the design before anything permanent happens. The office is about 10 minutes from Itasca, and the first visit is a $99 new-patient exam.
For a lot of people the goal is not a new smile. It is one detail that keeps showing up in photos: a chipped front edge, a small gap, teeth a shade darker than they used to be, or an old gray filling that shows when you laugh. Each of those has a small fix and a large fix, and on the day they are finished the two can look alike.
The difference is what they cost the tooth. Enamel does not grow back, and the larger restorations take away more natural tooth than the smaller ones. So the step worth choosing is the lowest one that solves the problem and holds up. That is the idea behind our cosmetic dentistry in Bloomingdale, applied here to patients driving over from Itasca.
Straightening sits beside the ladder rather than on it. Where crowding is the real reason a smile looks uneven, moving the teeth first can make any later shape or shade work smaller. Clear aligners covers how that works.
Worth asking anyone before you agree to a plan, this office included.
No high-strength whitening session in the chair. Whitening here means custom trays and a professional-strength gel, not a maximum-strength one. High-concentration formulas can cause sensitivity and put stress on enamel, and a gradual change with a tray that fits your teeth reaches a natural shade with less risk of sensitivity. If a single fast session is what you are after, this is not the office for it, and it is better to know that before you book.
No one-size-fits-all smile. Shade and shape are designed around your face and your age. The aim is work nobody can spot, not the brightest white on the chart.
Nothing permanent before you have seen it. The design is previewed first. If it does not look right on the screen, it changes there, before any tooth does.
No crown where bonding or an onlay will hold. A crown is a good restoration and sometimes the only safe one, but it removes more tooth than the options below it. It gets recommended when the tooth needs it, and you are shown the reason.
The first visit is the $99 new-patient exam with X-rays. After that, the cost depends on which rung your case needs. Dr. Kim walks you through the trade-offs and cost of each option, and you get a written, all-inclusive quote before anything starts.
Financing is available and most PPO insurance is accepted. Insurance may not cover work that is purely about looks, while repairing a broken tooth with an onlay or a crown can be treated differently, so your plan is checked before you decide.
Explaining what you want your smile to look like is personal, and it is hard enough in a first language. The whole appointment, from what the exam found to the options and the price, can happen in Vietnamese, Korean or Spanish.
From Itasca, head south. Bloomingdale Road brings you nearly door to door in about 10 minutes, no tollway needed. The office is at 183 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Suite #102, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, with parking at the door.
Cleanings, exams and the rest of the family’s care are on our Itasca dentist page. If a missing tooth is part of what you want fixed, dental implants for Itasca covers that separately.
Dr. Henry Kim, DMD, 183 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Suite #102, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, an implant and prosthetic-focused practice that also does cosmetic work. That mix matters here: the dentist planning a bonded edge is the same one who will tell you when a crown is the safer answer, and bonding and restorations are checked at every cleaning. Hours are Monday 9 to 6, Wednesday 9 to 6, Thursday 10 to 6 and alternating weekends, closed Tuesdays. Read more on his bio page or the new patients page.
The practice is rated 4.8 stars across 126 Google reviews. Two of them, copied exactly, are below; the reviews page has more.
“Great experience. The dentist is professional, gentle, and takes the time to explain everything clearly. The staff is friendly and the office is clean and welcoming. I’m glad I chose this practice.”
Paul Grooby, Google review
“Dr. Henry Kim did a fantastic job on my root canal! The staff are very kind and helpful. Highly recommend!”
Holly McNally, Google review
It starts with a $99 new-patient exam with X-rays at an office about 10 minutes from Itasca. Treatment is quoted once you have been examined: the trade-offs and cost of each option are explained, and you get a written, all-inclusive quote before anything starts. Financing is available.
Because the gentler route reaches a natural shade with less risk of sensitivity. Stronger gels can leave teeth sensitive and can wear on enamel. Custom trays made from your digital scan hold a professional-strength gel evenly against the teeth, and the shade moves over time. It takes longer than one sitting and it is kinder to your teeth.
The size and position of the damage decide it. Bonding suits a small chip, especially on a front tooth. When a back tooth has lost a cusp or a large old filling has failed, Dr. Kim places onlays, which replace the missing part and leave the sound walls alone. A full crown is for the tooth with too little left for either. The exam decides, not a price list.
Both are lab-made partial restorations. An inlay sits inside the chewing surface, between the cusps. An onlay also covers one or more cusps. Dr. Kim places onlays, and the crowns and bridges page shows where each sits between a filling and a full crown.
Yes, where the tooth under it is sound. A gray filling that shows when you laugh can be replaced with tooth-colored resin, or with an onlay if the old filling is large but the walls around it are still sound. Which one it is gets settled once the old filling is out and what is left can be measured.
Often. When crowding is the reason a smile looks uneven, straightening the teeth with clear aligners keeps them whole and can make later shape or shade work smaller. Whether you are a candidate is confirmed from a 3D scan.
That is the goal: they should not. Shade and shape are matched to the teeth around them and designed to your face and age, and you see the preview before anything is permanent.
Book the $99 new-patient exam. Call (224) 520-8665 or use the contact form, and bring a photo of whatever bothers you if that is easier than describing it.
Start with the $99 exam. Point at the tooth, or bring the photo you do not like. Dr. Kim will tell you the most conservative option that will last, and you get a written quote before anything starts. Call (224) 520-8665 to book.
More from this office: crowns, bridges and onlays · cosmetic dentistry in Bloomingdale · clear aligners · general dentistry for Itasca · full mouth restoration · cleanings and exams · all services · cosmetic dentistry in Wood Dale · clear aligners in Addison · clear aligners in Carol Stream · emergency dentist in Addison