Some people cover their mouth when they laugh. Some angle away from cameras, or smile with their lips closed in every photo. If that sounds familiar, cosmetic dentistry is not vanity: it is getting your smile back. At New Street Dental in Bethlehem, Dr. Tunney plans every cosmetic treatment around one goal, a natural-looking result that fits your budget, whether that means one whitening session or a complete smile makeover.
Call (610) 867-7112 or request a visit online to talk through what is bothering you about your smile. There is no pressure and no judgment, just options.
What Can Cosmetic Dentistry Fix?
Almost anything you can point to in the mirror:
- Stained or yellowed teeth: professional whitening or veneers
- Chips, small cracks, and worn edges: bonding, veneers, or crowns
- Gaps between teeth: bonding or veneers
- Teeth that look too small or uneven: veneers or crowns
- Dark internal staining that whitening cannot touch: veneers or crowns
- Old metal fillings that show when you laugh: tooth-colored composite fillings
- Several concerns at once: a planned smile makeover, done in stages you control
Below is how each treatment works, in plain English, so you can walk in already knowing your options.
Professional Teeth Whitening
Whitening is the fastest, most affordable cosmetic treatment we offer, and the usual starting point if your teeth are healthy but dull. We offer both options:
- In-office whitening. About an hour in the chair. Dr. Tunney or your hygienist applies a professional-strength gel that breaks down stains chemically. Most patients leave several shades whiter the same day.
- Take-home whitening. Custom trays made from impressions of your teeth, worn with professional gel for a few hours a day over about two weeks. Same end result, on your schedule.
Drugstore strips cannot match professional gel strength, and one-size trays let gel leak onto your gums. Custom treatment whitens more evenly and manages sensitivity properly. Read more on our teeth whitening page.
Porcelain Veneers
Veneers are thin porcelain shells bonded to the front of your teeth, and they are the closest thing dentistry has to a reset button for your smile. One set of veneers can hide chips, gaps, deep stains, and uneven shapes all at once.
Dr. Tunney preps your teeth by removing a very small amount of enamel, so the veneers sit flush without looking bulky. Impressions go to a skilled dental lab, and your finished veneers are matched to the exact shade you want: brighter, but believable. Porcelain has a slight translucence, just like natural enamel, which is why well-made veneers do not read as “fake teeth.”
Tooth-Colored Bonding and Composite Fillings
Bonding uses the same tooth-colored composite we use for modern fillings, sculpted directly onto the tooth to repair a chip, close a small gap, or reshape an edge. It is done in one visit, is the least expensive fix for small flaws, and requires little or no drilling.
The same material means old metal fillings can be replaced with composite that disappears into the tooth. Composite is completely mercury-free and requires less removal of healthy tooth structure than metal fillings do.
Porcelain Crowns, Inlays, and Onlays
When a tooth is too damaged or worn for a veneer, a porcelain crown covers and strengthens the whole tooth while making it look brand new. For molars with large cavities or broken cusps, inlays and onlays repair the damage while keeping more of your natural tooth than a crown. All of them are made from lifelike porcelain matched to your smile. You can read more about how crowns work on our restorative dentistry page.
Smile Makeovers: A Plan, Not a Package
A smile makeover is not one procedure; it is a sequence designed around your goals. Maybe that is whitening plus bonding on one chipped tooth. Maybe it is veneers across your front teeth and a crown on a broken molar. Dr. Tunney examines your teeth, listens to what bothers you, and lays out a written plan with the order, the timeline, and the cost of each step, so you can do everything at once or spread it out. No upselling, ever. Patients regularly tell us the honest recommendation is why they stayed.
Bonding or Veneers? How to Choose
The most common cosmetic crossroads is between bonding and veneers, so here is the honest comparison. Bonding is faster (one visit), less expensive, and completely reversible, and it is excellent for one or two small flaws: a chipped corner, a narrow gap, a slightly short tooth. Its trade-offs: composite can stain over time and typically lasts 5 to 10 years before needing touch-ups.
Veneers cost more and require removing a little enamel, but they resist staining, last 10 to 15 years or more, and transform color, shape, and alignment all at once across multiple teeth. The rule of thumb Dr. Tunney uses: small, isolated fixes lean bonding; a whole-smile change leans veneers. You will see examples of both at your consultation and get pricing for each path side by side.
How We Plan a Smile Makeover, Step by Step
- The conversation. You tell us what bothers you, in your own words. “I hate the gap.” “My teeth look gray in photos.” That sentence drives everything.
- The exam. Health first: cavities and gum problems get fixed before cosmetics, because beautiful work on an unhealthy foundation fails.
- The options, on screen. Using intraoral camera images, Dr. Tunney shows you your own teeth and exactly what each treatment would change, from the minimal option to the complete one.
- The written plan. Every step, its order, its timeline, and its cost, in writing. You choose the pace: everything at once or one stage per year. The plan waits for you; there is no expiration pressure.
What Does Cosmetic Dentistry Cost in Bethlehem?
It depends entirely on the treatment: whitening costs a fraction of veneers, and bonding sits in between. Instead of vague promises, here is how we handle cost:
- You get a clear, written estimate before anything starts, including a same-day insurance estimate. Some treatments with restorative benefits (like crowns or replacing failing fillings) may be partially covered by insurance; purely cosmetic work usually is not, and we will tell you which is which honestly.
- We accept most major plans, including Aetna, Blue Cross Dental, Cigna, Concordia, Delta Dental, Guardian, and MetLife.
- Third-party financing can split larger smile makeovers into monthly payments you choose in advance.
Start with the smallest treatment that solves your concern. That is our standing advice, and it is why patients trust the plan they get here.
Why Choose New Street Dental for Cosmetic Work
Dr. Gene Tunney (DDS, New York University) plans cosmetic cases the way he practices everything: conservative, honest, and detail-obsessed. With intraoral cameras and chairside TVs, you will see exactly what he sees and preview what each option changes before you commit. And if dental anxiety has kept you from fixing the thing you hate about your smile, this is the calm, judgment-free office to finally do it in.
We serve patients from Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, Fountain Hill, Hellertown, Catasauqua, Center Valley, Nazareth, Allentown, and across the Lehigh Valley at our office at 920 N New Street in Bethlehem.