About us
About Muse Aesthetics
Someone comes in holding a photo on their phone — a smile they like, maybe their own from ten years ago — and says, “I think I want veneers.” As we talk, it turns out the thing bothering them isn’t only the teeth. It’s the way the lower face has changed, the way the lips sit, the sense that things don’t quite fit together anymore. In most places, that conversation splits into three appointments at three different offices, with no one person responsible for how the finished result looks. In our studio, it stays one conversation.
Our practice started with two people comparing notes. Sarah Garces, NP-C, had spent years building an aesthetic practice around a straightforward belief: patients deserve more than quick, transactional treatments from providers who aren’t really looking at the whole face. She wanted an approach grounded in restraint, artistry, and genuine care — the kind of work that looks like you, not like a treatment.
Darian Anderson, DDS, held the same philosophy in cosmetic dentistry. He saw patients leave his previous practice with beautiful work and still wondered whether the smile design could have gone further if facial aesthetics had been planned alongside it. Too often, patients were getting veneers from one office, neurotoxins from another, and fillers from a third, with no one looking at how the pieces fit together.
The obvious answer was to build something new. One studio, two specialties, one coordinated plan — cosmetic dentistry and medical aesthetics under the same roof, designed to work together rather than in isolation. That’s how Muse Aesthetics & Dentistry came to be. Not a concept pitched to investors, but something we would have wanted to find for ourselves.
The most common question we hear is some version of: *where do I even start?* People often arrive with a list of small frustrations rather than one clear request. The answer is almost always the same — start with a conversation, not a procedure. We offer a complimentary consultation so you can sit down, tell us what’s bothering you, and hear honest thoughts before committing to anything.
During that visit, we look at the whole picture: tooth shape, shade, and proportion, along with how your lips, skin, and facial structure frame them. Sometimes the right first step is dental. Sometimes it’s aesthetic. Sometimes it’s sequencing — knowing that a smile design should be settled before certain facial treatments, or the other way around. Digital Smile Design lets us plan and preview that work rather than guess at it, which makes the conversation concrete instead of abstract.
We also believe in saying no, or “not yet,” when that’s the honest answer. Restraint is part of the artistry. A plan that does less but does it in the right order often looks better than a plan that does everything at once.
What a Visit With Us Looks Like
Our studio is set up to feel unhurried. You won’t be handed off between rooms or asked to repeat your goals to three different people. The same team that plans your care is the team that performs it, and we talk with each other constantly about how the parts of your plan interact.
Here’s what you can generally expect:
- A no-cost first consultation focused on listening before recommending
- A single coordinated plan covering both dental and facial aesthetic goals
- Clear explanation of what each step involves, in what order, and why
- Time to ask questions and take the plan home before deciding
- Straightforward discussion of cost, since we’re a fee-for-service office
We are an out-of-network, fee-for-service practice and do not participate with insurance. We made that choice deliberately: it lets us give appointments the time they need and plan treatment around what’s right for your face rather than what a benefits table allows. We welcome self-pay patients, and for those who prefer to spread payments out, we offer financing through Cherry.
The Team Behind the Work
Sarah Garces, NP-C, is our Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner and facial balancing specialist, handling neurotoxins, dermal fillers, and microneedling with an emphasis on natural proportion. Darian Anderson, DDS, leads our cosmetic dentistry, from porcelain and composite veneers to smile makeovers, clear aligners, and implant solutions including All-on-4 and All-on-6. Monica Kieu, D.O., FACS, serves as our Medical Director.
Our office covers a wide scope of dental care beyond cosmetics — general and pediatric dentistry, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral medicine, oral and maxillofacial pathology and radiology, orofacial pain, and dental public health. That breadth matters because cosmetic results depend on healthy foundations. Bone grafting before implants, or addressing gum health before veneers, isn’t an upsell; it’s what makes the final result last and look right.
Serving Our Coastal San Diego Neighbors
We care for patients from Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, Solana Beach, and throughout San Diego. This stretch of coast draws people who are active, outdoors, photographed often, and generally not looking for anything that announces itself. That fits our approach well — the goal is work that reads as rested and put-together, not as work.
Our patients range from teenagers finishing orthodontic treatment to adults planning full-arch implant restorations, and from someone curious about take-home whitening to someone mapping out a complete smile makeover alongside facial treatments. Whatever brings you in, the starting point is the same: a conversation, and a plan built around your whole face. We’d be glad to have that conversation with you.
Let’s Plan Your Smile Together
Schedule your complimentary consultation with our team to talk through your goals, see how cosmetic dentistry and facial aesthetics can work together, and learn about flexible financing through Cherry.