Understanding Shade Guides
Dentists use standardized shade guides—collections of tooth-colored samples representing the range of natural tooth colors. The most common is the Vita Classical shade guide, which arranges colors from bright white to dark brown and from light to dark yellow.
Shade guides are calibrated references, but actual tooth color appears different in actual light conditions than under the controlled lighting where shade guides are viewed. Your dentist matches restoration color as closely as possible, understanding this inherent limitation.
The Shade-Taking Process
Proper shade selection requires careful methodology. Your dentist photographs your teeth and the shade guide together under standardized lighting. The dentist selects shade guide tabs matching your natural tooth color, considering all dimensions of color including hue, chroma, and value.
Hue refers to the basic color category—yellow, brown, orange, or gray. Chroma refers to the intensity or saturation of color. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color. Properly matched restorations account for all three dimensions.
Whitening Before Shade Selection
If you're planning to whiten your teeth before receiving restorations, shade selection occurs after whitening is complete. This ensures the restoration color matches your final whitened shade. Selecting shade before whitening risks making restorations that appear dark or yellow relative to surrounding whitened teeth.
Some patients whiten teeth, select shade immediately after whitening while teeth are at their whitest, then have restorations placed after shade selection. This ensures optimal match.
Individual Shade Variation
Natural teeth don't have uniform color throughout. Incisal (biting) edges are often slightly darker or more orange than cervical (gum) areas, which tend toward yellow. Skilled laboratory technicians recreate this natural variation in restorations, making them look more natural than uniform-colored alternatives.
Selecting Appropriate Shade for Your Goals
Some patients want bright white teeth while others prefer more natural, slightly warm-toned teeth. Your dentist helps you decide based on your age, skin tone, and personal preference. Younger patients often prefer brighter white while older patients may prefer warmer, more natural shades.
Your skin tone affects which shade looks most natural on you. Fair skin often looks best with slightly warmer, less intensely white teeth. Darker skin tones often look beautiful with brighter white teeth.
Shade Selection Under Specific Lighting
The lighting in your dentist's office may differ from your normal environment. If possible, view shade selections under various lighting conditions—office fluorescent light, natural daylight, and warm indoor lighting. Your restoration appears different under these varied lighting conditions.
Some dentists view shade selections outdoors in natural light for more accurate representation of how teeth will appear in everyday situations.
Communicating Shade Preferences
Show your dentist photos of smiles you admire with shade characteristics you like. This visual communication helps your dentist understand your preferences better than verbal descriptions. However, understand that your face, skin tone, and natural tooth color may not allow exactly replicating someone else's smile.
Temporary Restorations and Shade Verification
For treatments requiring laboratory work, temporary restorations are placed while permanent restorations are fabricated. Temporary shade is typically selected to approximate final shade. However, don't assume temporary color will match final restorations—temporaries are often less ideal shade than final restorations.
When final restorations are tried in before permanent cementation, you can verify shade. If color doesn't satisfy you, adjustments can be made before permanent placement. However, minor shade adjustments are easier than major changes requiring remakings.
Shade Drift Over Time
Restorations may appear slightly different in color immediately after placement compared to after several days. This is normal as restorations hydrate and settle into place. Additionally, laboratory lighting during fabrication differs from actual mouth appearance.
Most restorations appear ideal within one to two weeks of placement as you adjust to the new shade.
Preventing Shade Mismatch
Clear communication between you and your dentist, and between your dentist and the laboratory, prevents shade mismatches. Your dentist provides the laboratory with detailed shade information and ideally includes photographs showing the shade in your mouth.
For multiple restorations affecting adjacent teeth, coordination ensures consistent shade across multiple teeth. Your dentist can adjust adjacent restoration shades for optimal coordination.
Addressing Shade Dissatisfaction
If you're dissatisfied with restoration color, contact your dentist within a reasonable timeframe. Minor adjustments are possible by polishing or applying surface modifications. If major shade changes are needed, remakings by the laboratory may be necessary.
However, shade modification or remakings can be expensive. This is why careful shade selection before permanent placement is important—it prevents needing these costly corrections.
When to See Your Dentist
Before major restorative work, discuss shade selection thoroughly. Ask your dentist for guidance based on your specific situation. Request trying in temporary restorations or shade mockups before final restorations are fabricated when possible.