Most of what people call cosmetic dentistry in Wood Dale is really a repair that also happens to show. The dark filling in a smile-line tooth. The molar cusp that wore flat or broke on a popcorn kernel. The old crown that no longer matches anything next to it. Dr. Henry Kim, DMD sorts those out first. He fixes them in a way that looks right and keeps the purely-for-looks work small. The office sits about 15 minutes west of Wood Dale, and the first visit is a $99 new-patient exam.
The word cosmetic covers two different jobs, and it pays to know which one you are booking. A repair is a tooth with something wrong with it that also looks wrong. Think of a failed or discolored filling, a cracked or worn cusp, a chipped edge, or a crown that matched teeth which have since changed shade. Pure-looks work is a healthy tooth you would like whiter, smoother or more even.
The distinction changes three things. It changes what we do, because a repair puts strength first and appearance second. It changes the order, because repairs come before any whitening so the new work can match the final shade. And it often changes how a dental plan treats the bill. We check that before you decide rather than leaving you to discover it afterward. Our Bloomingdale cosmetic dentistry page covers the treatments; this page is about telling the two jobs apart.
A dark or failed filling that shows. Where the tooth around it is sound, the old material comes out and tooth-colored resin goes in. Sometimes the filling was large and reaches a cusp, but the walls are still sound. There Dr. Kim places onlays: a lab-made partial restoration that rebuilds the broken part and leaves the rest of the tooth alone. He confirms which one it is once the old filling is out and he can measure what is left. The onlay section of our crowns page shows the difference. You may also hear the word inlay, the version that sits inside the chewing surface.
A worn or broken back tooth. Four things decide between an onlay and a full crown: how much sound structure is left, how many cusps it touches, whether the tooth has had a root canal, and how hard your bite loads it. Dr. Kim matches the shade on both. He chooses a crown when too little tooth remains for anything smaller to hold. When a filling needs a crown walks through that threshold.
A crown that no longer matches. A crown keeps the shade it had on the day it went in, while the natural teeth beside it drift. If the crown is sound it can stay. The usual fix for the mismatch is to bring the natural teeth back toward it with take-home trays. If it is failing at the margin, Dr. Kim replaces it and matches it to the shade you will have, not the shade you have today.
A chipped front edge. Bonding, in most cases. Dr. Kim shapes tooth-colored resin over the chip. It keeps the tooth underneath intact, and we can redo it later.
Shade. Whitening here means custom take-home trays made from your digital scan, with a professional-strength gel rather than a maximum-strength one. The change is gradual by design, because high-concentration formulas can leave teeth sensitive and put stress on enamel. It is also the step that comes after repairs, so any new resin or porcelain matches the shade you end up with.
Edges and small gaps. Bonding again, kept small and reversible.
Crowding. When a smile looks uneven because the teeth are crowded, moving them is the honest fix, and it keeps every tooth whole. Clear aligners covers how that works.
Six things to check with any office, including this one.
No high-concentration whitening session in the chair. The trays are custom and the gel is professional strength, not maximum strength, and the shade moves gradually. If you want a single fast session, this is not the office for it. Better to know that now.
No cosmetic work over an untreated problem. Decay under an old filling or gums that bleed come first. Resin or porcelain over trouble does not last.
No full crown where an onlay or bonding will hold. A crown takes more tooth than the options below it. Dr. Kim chooses one when the tooth needs it, and he shows you why.
Nothing permanent that you have not seen first. You see the shade and shape in a preview, and we change them on the screen if they are not right.
The $99 new-patient exam with X-rays comes first. From there the price depends on what each tooth needs, and a written, all-inclusive quote arrives before we schedule any work.
We accept most PPO plans and offer financing. Plans often treat a repair to a broken or failing tooth differently from work that is only about appearance. So we check your benefits item by item before you decide, and the written quote comes before anything goes on the schedule.
Describing what you do not like about a tooth is easier in the language you think in. The appointment, from what the X-rays show to each option and each price, can happen in Vietnamese, Korean or Spanish.
From Wood Dale, head west on Irving Park Road or Lake Street (US-20) toward Bloomingdale and turn onto Bloomingdale Road. The drive is roughly 15 minutes from most Wood Dale neighborhoods, with no tollway. The office is at 183 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Suite #102, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, just off Lake Street, with parking at the door.
Family care and emergencies for Wood Dale are on our Wood Dale dentist page. If part of what you want fixed is a missing tooth, dental implants covers that separately.
Dr. Henry Kim, DMD, 183 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Suite #102, Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Implants and prosthetic restorations are the core of the practice, and cosmetic work sits on top of that. That is the point on this page: the dentist rebuilding a broken molar is the same one matching the shade of the front teeth. Where the schedule allows, we group a household’s appointments into one visit block. Hours are Monday 9 to 6, Wednesday 9 to 6, Thursday 10 to 6 and alternating weekends, closed Tuesdays. More on the bio page and the new patients page.
4.8 stars from 126 Google reviews. Two appear below exactly as written; the reviews page carries more.
“I was surprised at how comfortable going to the dentist could be! The staff were all very friendly, and Dr. Henry explained everything carefully, which made me feel completely at ease. The facility is clean, and I especially loved the windows that make the space feel so calming. I really enjoyed my visit.”
Jake Park, Google review
“Professional staff and an incredibly clean environment. Our whole family comes here for our dental care and we couldn’t be happier with the service.”
Patrick Ly, Google review
Usually both, and we treat it as a repair first. The old filling comes out, Dr. Kim checks the tooth underneath, and he rebuilds it with tooth-colored resin or an onlay depending on how much sound tooth is left. It looks better because he fixed it properly, not the other way around.
Not if it is sound. The crown matched the teeth you had then, so the usual fix is to bring the natural teeth back toward the crown with custom take-home trays. If the crown is failing at the edge, Dr. Kim replaces it and matches it to the shade you will have afterward.
Repairs come first and the shade work follows. Any final matching waits until the whitening has settled. We match new resin or porcelain once, so matching it to a shade you are about to change would mean doing the work twice.
It starts with the $99 new-patient exam and X-rays, about 15 minutes west of Wood Dale. Dr. Kim quotes each tooth once he has examined it. The quote is written and all-inclusive, it comes before anything starts, and financing is available.
Often. Where the walls of the tooth are still sound and one or more cusps are worn or broken, Dr. Kim places onlays. They rebuild the missing part and leave the rest alone. When too little tooth remains for that to hold, a crown is the safer answer, and he shows you why.
Because the high-concentration gels those sessions rely on can leave teeth sensitive and put stress on enamel. Custom trays with a professional-strength gel reach a natural shade gradually, with less risk of sensitivity. The trays are yours to keep.
It depends on the item. Plans often treat a repair to a broken or failing tooth differently from purely cosmetic work, so we check your benefits line by line before you decide.
Book the $99 new-patient exam. Call (224) 520-8665 or use the contact form, and if a photo is easier than describing it, bring the photo.
Start with the $99 exam. Show Dr. Kim the tooth, or the photo. You hear which items are repairs and which are pure-looks work, with a written quote before anything starts. Call (224) 520-8665 to book.
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