POULSBO — Dr. Kevin Pulver is serving up smiles in Little Norway.

Behind the new Valhalla Dental storefront in the Poulsbo Village Medical Dental Center, Pulver is offering his 25 years of dental industry experience to help local residents achieve and maintain a toothsome set of pearly whites.

While this is Pulver’s first turn at owning a practice, and his first post here in Poulsbo, he certainly isn’t new to the Pacific Northwest.

He’s lived and practiced in various areas around the Puget Sound, including Fife, Bonnie Lake, Vashon Island and Gig Harbor, as well as in North Carolina.

But when it came time to open his own practice, it was Poulsbo that came to the Wisconsin native’s mind.

“I always liked Poulsbo,” he said. “In the last five years it’s changed a lot.”

Pulver said it’s the city’s continuous growth that has made room for one more dentistry shop here in Little Norway. His shop opened in September.

And while he said it takes time to build a patient base, joining ranks with Poulsbo’s other dentists has so far gone well, as he’s experienced a steady increase in filling his four patient chairs.

Now the Marquette graduate is providing general family dentistry services, along with one-hour bleaching, dentures and veneers. Valhalla Dental offers payment plans and processes all insurances, he said.

And Pulver said he offers education on topics some may not initially associate with dental health.

“I think diet is really overlooked when it comes to dentistry,” he said. Valhalla promotes overall health, natural medicines and diet counseling.

Keeping up with the field’s progress is another effort he makes.

“I try to keep up on the latest technologies and use the best resources I have to provide the best service,” he said.

And while getting in that dentist chair isn’t a favorite activity for many, Pulver said he’s learned to change even those with an inate fear of dentists with just-right techniques and gentle chair-side manner.

“Everyone has it to a degree,” he said of the phobia with a laugh. “I try to break them of it.”

Because when it comes down to it for Pulver, it’s all about providing a healthier smile.

“It’s not about the money so much as just providing health care for people,” he said.