Fuller lips, softer smile lines and a little volume back in the cheeks, added a small amount at a time, so you still look like yourself.
Most people who ask about fillers want something small. Lips that have always been thin, or have thinned over time. Cheeks that look flatter than they used to, so the lines from your nose to the corners of your mouth look deeper. Dermal fillers restore that volume under the skin, a small amount at a time, where it’s been lost.
At Pearl, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, fillers are given by Dr. Colby, who is certified through the American Academy of Facial Esthetics for Botox and fillers. We keep them subtle and in proportion with your face, and if you’re unsure how much, we start with less. It’s easy to add a little at a later visit, and the result still looks like you.
“We believe every detail matters, and we only deliver work that looks beautiful and natural.”
We start with the look you want and what you’d like to keep, then plan where filler would help your face, and where it wouldn’t. It’s usually one visit, and you can go back to your day afterward.
Which areas bother you and what you’d like to keep. We look at your face from the front and the side, at rest and when you smile.
Medications, supplements, cold sores, allergies and any filler you’ve had before, so we know what’s safe for you.
Where filler would go, how much, and what it costs, before anything is done. You’re only offered what you need.
Most fillers contain a local anesthetic, so the area numbs as the treatment goes on. Most people feel pressure and a few pinches.
Small amounts are placed with a fine needle or a blunt-tipped cannula and gently shaped. Some swelling shows straight away and settles over the next days.
“For me personally, aesthetics and humanity are inseparable from healthcare.”
Lip filler adds volume and shape: fuller lips, a clearer border, more even sides, or softer fine lines around the mouth. You see the change straight away, though the lips are swollen for the first few days.
We start with a small amount and add more at a later visit if you want it, so your lips stay in proportion with the rest of your face.
A lip flip uses Botox to relax the muscle along the upper lip, so the lip rolls outward and more of it shows. It adds no volume and usually lasts two to three months.
Lip filler adds real volume and lasts longer, often six to twelve months. If you want more lip to show when you smile, a flip may be enough; if you want fuller lips, filler is the treatment. Some people have both. If the smaller treatment gets you the look you described, that’s the one we’ll suggest.
Cheek filler restores volume over the cheekbones, which flattens with age. A little lift in the mid-face can also soften the folds below it and make the face look less tired.
It often lasts longer than lip filler, around a year or more, because it’s placed deep, close to the bone.
Often, yes. The folds from the nose to the corners of the mouth, called nasolabial folds, can be softened with filler placed in or near them. Sometimes restoring the cheek above works better, because lost volume there is what deepens the fold, so we look at the whole face before treating the line.
We soften these folds rather than fill them flat, because everyone has some fold when they smile, and a face without one looks overdone.
It depends on the line. Lines that appear when you move, like frown lines and crow’s feet, come from muscles, and Botox relaxes them. Lines and hollows that are there when your face is still come from lost volume, and filler restores it.
Many faces have some of both, and the two are often used together. We’ll tell you which your lines are, so you only have the one that will help.
Dermal fillers usually last six to eighteen months, depending on the area and the filler. Lips, which move constantly, are at the shorter end, often six to twelve months; cheeks at the longer end, often a year or more.
Filler breaks down gradually, so the result fades slowly rather than all at once. Many people have a smaller top-up before it’s fully gone, which keeps each change small.
Fillers should leave you looking like yourself. The overfilled look comes from too much filler, or filler in the wrong place for that face. Placed with care, filler restores what was there and people notice you look well.
We plan around the proportions of your face, your lips and your smile, and keep it subtle. Because we look after teeth too, we see how your lips frame your smile, not only the lips on their own.
Most side effects are mild and short-lived: swelling, tenderness and small bruises for a few days, most of all in the lips, usually settling within one to two weeks. Small lumps can often be smoothed out.
Rarely, filler can press on or block a blood vessel. Knowing the anatomy of the face is how injectors avoid it, and dentists train in the face’s blood vessels and nerves. If you have severe pain, or skin turns pale or dusky after treatment, contact us straight away or seek urgent care.
Tell us what you’d like to change and what you’d like to keep, and we’ll tell you plainly whether filler is the right answer, and what it costs, before anything is done. We’re at 1009 W Webster Ave, across from St. Vincent de Paul Church, with street parking nearby.
Dr. Colby James Gerth, DMD, earned his Doctorate in Dental Medicine at Midwestern University and has practiced in Chicago since 2020. He is certified through the American Academy of Facial Esthetics for Botox and fillers, and opened Pearl in Lincoln Park in 2025.
At Pearl Aesthetics & Dentistry, 1009 W Webster Ave, across from St. Vincent de Paul Church. Fillers are given by Dr. Colby. Book online, or call (312) 858-7067.
Usually less than people expect. Most fillers contain a local anesthetic, and most people feel pressure and a few pinches. The lips are the most sensitive area.
Usually two or three days at its most, settling over one to two weeks. Judge the result at about two weeks, and book at least two weeks before an event.
Most are a gel of hyaluronic acid, a substance your skin already makes, which holds water and adds volume. Your body slowly breaks it down, which is why fillers aren’t permanent.
Hyaluronic acid fillers usually can. An enzyme called hyaluronidase breaks the filler down, often within a day or two.
It depends on the area and how much filler you need; fillers are usually priced by the syringe. You’ll know the cost before anything is done. Fillers are cosmetic, so dental insurance doesn’t cover them.
Often, yes. They work differently and are commonly done together. We’ll tell you at your consultation whether it makes sense for you.
For a day or two, avoid hard exercise, heat, alcohol and pressing on the area, and sleep on your back the first night. Keep makeup off for the first several hours.
Something else on your mind? Call (312) 858-7067 or see all our questions and answers.
Book online, or call us with any questions. We’ll plan around your face and tell you plainly what’s worth doing. There’s street parking nearby.
