Nowadays, dental crowns are often made out of tooth-colored materials to help them look as lifelike as possible. When you get one of these crowns, your dentist will need to make sure that it precisely matches the shade of your natural teeth. As you can probably imagine, this can be a tricky process, but fortunately, your dentist has the tools and techniques to help them make the best decision. Below is a brief overview of how shade-matching for dental crowns works.
What Exactly is the Shade of a Tooth?
Shade is the term dentists use when talking about the specific color of a tooth. There are three main components of a tooth’s shade:
- Hue, which is the basic color of the tooth.
- Chroma, which is a measurement of the intensity of the hue.
- Value, which refers to how relatively light or dark the hue is.
Simply picking the right hue for your dental crown isn’t enough. Your dentist needs to take chroma and value into account as well in order to provide you with a restoration that truly blends in with the rest of your smile.
How Does Shade-Matching Work?
The shade-matching process begins with a simple tool called a shade guide, which is a card that has multiple fake teeth attached. These fake teeth are lined up in a specific order and cover a wide range of shades. By holding the guide near your mouth and comparing your teeth to the available samples, your dentist can narrow down the correct hue, chroma, and value.
To ensure that an accurate selection is made, the shade-matching process should take place under natural lighting conditions. On top of that, you will likely be told to remove any lipstick or makeup that could affect the way your teeth look.
During the shade-matching process, your dentist will only look at your teeth for seven seconds at a time. This is because the cells in the eyes that are responsible for color perception tend to tire out quickly. To counteract this, your dentist may have you wear a gray bib, thus giving themselves a neutral place to look so that their eyes can rest as needed.
After your dentist picks a shade for your tooth, they may consult a colleague for a second opinion. Alternatively, they might use a device called a spectrometer that can give them an accurate reading of the color of your teeth. Once your dentist is sure that they’ve made the right decision, they will take note of the chosen shade and send the necessary information to the lab responsible for making your dental crown.
Between modern shade-matching techniques and your dentist’s carefully trained artistic eye, you can rest assured that your dental crown will match your teeth as closely as possible, leaving you with a beautifully repaired smile that you can show off with full confidence.
About the Practice
Here at Washington Dental Associates, our dentists all share a tireless dedication to bringing patients in Bergenfield comfortable, convenient, high-quality dental care. We offer dental crowns made out of a variety of materials, including ceramic and porcelain that can be made to closely resemble your natural teeth. If you need a dental crown to repair a damaged or worn-down tooth, you can schedule an appointment at Washington Dental Associates by visiting our website or calling (201) 453-4863.