You look in the mirror and know what you want: a brighter, straighter, more confident smile. But then you remember the silver fillings in your back teeth. Or that one crown up front that never quite matched the color of the rest of your smile. And suddenly you wonder: Am I even a candidate for cosmetic dentistry? Yes, absolutely. Having older dental work doesn’t disqualify you from getting the smile makeover you want. In fact, it’s one of the most common reasons people come to see us at Valley Dental Health.
Why Old Dental Work Gets in the Way (and Why That’s Okay)
Fillings and crowns don’t last forever. Metal fillings can expand and contract with hot and cold foods, eventually damaging the tooth around them. Older crowns may develop gaps at the gum line where bacteria can sneak in. And even if everything is technically “fine,” that dark line at the base of a crown or the grey shadow of an old amalgam filling just doesn’t look natural.
But these aren’t dealbreakers. They’re just part of your dental history. And at Valley Dental Health, we see our job as working with whatever is already in your mouth, not pretending it doesn’t exist.
How a Smile Makeover Works With Existing Restorations
This is where having two highly trained dentists in one office makes a real difference. Dr. Ashley Izadi focuses on general and cosmetic dentistry, including Invisalign and veneers. Dr. Roham Rafat is a prosthodontist, which means he has advanced training in crowns, bridges, implants, and complex restorations.
Together, they can look at your old fillings and crowns and answer three questions:
- Does this restoration need to be replaced? Sometimes an old crown is structurally fine but cosmetically outdated. Other times, there’s decay underneath that you can’t see. We’ll take x-rays and examine everything carefully.
- What order should treatment happen in? If you want straighter teeth and new crowns, you usually do Invisalign first, then replace the crowns afterward so they fit your new smile. If you want veneers, we need healthy teeth underneath. We’ll map out the right sequence for you.
- Can we match new work to old work? Yes. Modern ceramic materials are incredibly lifelike. We can color-match new crowns or veneers to your existing teeth, or if you’re replacing several old restorations, we can give you a completely uniform look.
Real Examples of What’s Possible
Maybe you have one old crown that’s too dark, but the rest of your teeth are fine. We can replace just that single crown and match it perfectly to the surrounding teeth.
Maybe you have silver fillings in every molar, and you’re tired of how they look when you laugh. We can replace those with tooth-colored restorations that blend in completely.
Maybe you need a full arch of new crowns because your old ones are failing. Dr. Rafat does that kind of comprehensive work every week.
The point is: your starting point doesn’t lock you into a certain outcome. We meet you where you are and build from there.
Don’t Let Old Dental Work Hold You Back
One of the biggest regrets we hear from patients is this: “I wish I had done this years ago.” They spent years thinking they couldn’t change their smile because of something a dentist did in the 1990s. But that was then. This is now.
If you have old fillings, mismatched crowns, or just a smile that doesn’t feel like you anymore, come talk to us. We’ll take a look, answer your questions, and give you an honest plan: no pressure, no judgment. Call Valley Dental Health today to schedule your smile makeover consultation. Your smile’s next chapter is waiting.