How is a tooth shade chosen in smile design?
The shade is chosen from the 16 shades of the VITA Classical scale (A1–D4) or from the VITA 3D-Master scale. A natural-looking shade is one that does not exceed the brightness of the whites of your eyes and matches the warmth of your skin tone; nothing goes into production until the chosen shade is approved at the try-in.
What is the VITA scale and how many shades does it have?
The VITA Classical scale describes tooth colour in 16 shades across four groups: A is reddish-brown, B reddish-yellow, C greyish and D reddish-grey. Within each group, the higher the number the darker the shade.
The VITA 3D-Master scale separates colour on three axes instead: lightness, chroma and hue. That separation makes it easier to match a neighbouring tooth, particularly on single-tooth restorations.
The BL — bleach — shades sit outside the scale and above the natural range of tooth colour. They exist, but they do not look natural on every face.
How and in what light is the shade chosen?
Shade selection is done in daylight or under neutral light at a colour temperature of 5,500–6,500 K. A shade chosen under a yellow surgery lamp looks different in daylight.
Each comparison against the scale lasts 5–7 seconds. After that the eye adapts to the colour and loses discrimination, so you look away at a neutral grey surface between comparisons.
Before selection, lipstick and brightly coloured clothing are removed and the teeth are kept moist. A drying tooth surface looks lighter than it is, which makes the chosen shade come out darker than intended.
Why are skin tone and the whites of the eyes the reference?
The whites of the eyes are the most reliable white reference on a face. When the tooth shade exceeds their brightness, the eye reads the difference as an unnatural luminance.
Skin tone is the second reference. On warm skin with yellow-gold undertones, group A shades look more harmonious; on cool skin with pink-blue undertones, shades in group B sit more naturally.
The third reference is age. Natural teeth darken and change translucency with age; a shade far lighter than your features is the main thing that breaks a natural appearance.
Why does the lightest shade not suit everyone?
The lightest shades, such as BL1 and BL2, are outside the natural range of tooth colour. They produce a high-contrast appearance that can look artificial against your features.
Contrast is decisive: a light shade stands out more on darker skin and reads more softly on fair skin. The same shade therefore gives different results on two different patients.
Where a natural appearance is the aim, the shade is chosen 2–3 steps lighter than the patient’s current tooth colour. That range gives a noticeable change while keeping the relationship with the whites of the eyes.
How does try-in and written approval work?
The chosen shade is written into your record before treatment and your approval is taken. Verbal agreement is not enough; the shade code — A2 or 2M2, for example — goes into the record and you should be able to read it back.
At the try-in the restoration is placed in the mouth before cementation and assessed in daylight. Shade, shape and length can all be changed at that stage.
Nothing that has not been approved at the try-in is permanently cemented. Corrections go back to the laboratory and can extend the schedule by a day.
How are whitening and restoration shade planned together?
Porcelain does not respond to whitening. So if teeth that will not be restored are going to be whitened, the whitening is done before the restoration shade is chosen.
The colour settles within 1–2 weeks after whitening. If the restoration shade is chosen before that, a difference appears between the settled colour and the restoration.
If the lower jaw is not being restored, the upper shade is set against the settled colour of the lower teeth. A difference of more than one step between the jaws becomes visible when you speak and smile.
Can the shade be changed afterwards?
Once porcelain is made, its colour cannot be changed. Small corrections by surface staining are limited and are not a permanent solution.
Changing the shade means removing the restoration and remaking it. That does not cost further tooth tissue, but it does mean laboratory time and another try-in — and for a travelling patient, another trip.
The shade decision is therefore the most irreversible step in the schedule, and the stage on try-in day where you should not let yourself be hurried.
This page is general information and does not replace a clinical examination. The method, dose and timescale that apply to you are decided by a doctor after examining you.
Frequently asked questions
Will a restoration yellow over time?
Can a shade be chosen from a photograph?
Are the upper and lower jaws the same shade?
Are gum colour and level part of the design?
Pre-assessment
Describe your situation and we will answer with a measurement
Send a photograph or an X-ray. A doctor in the relevant speciality will reply with a graft range, a number of teeth or a dose range in units. If you are not suitable, we say so plainly.