at 847.234.0517
Shade Matching in Restorative Dentistry: The Science and Strategies
James Fondriest, DDS
Closely matching natural teeth with an artificial restoration can be one of the most challenging procedures in restorative dentistry. Natural teeth vary greatly in color and shape. They reveal ample information about patients' background and personality. Dentistry provides the opportunity to restore unique patient characteristics or replace them with alternatives. Whether one tooth or many is restored, the ability to assess and properly communicate information to the laboratory can be greatly improved by learning the language of color and light characteristics. It is only possible to duplicate in ceramic what has been distinguished, understood, and communicated in the shade-matching process of the natural dentition. This article will give the reader a better understanding of what happens when incident light hits the surface of a tooth and give strategies for best assessing and communicating this to the dental laboratory. (Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2003;23:5 466-479.)
Every opaque object receives light, the three primary light colors in some ratio. Some objects reflect all of the light they receive, and others absorb it almost totally.1 Most "opaque" objects absorb partially and reflect the rest. The dominant wavelengths reflected back to the eye is the perceived color of the object. Natural teeth have many optical characteristics that increase the complexity of what we see. Understanding these characteristics will improve our ability to describe them. Albert Munsell described color as a three-dimensional phenomenon. He described the three dimensions as hue, value (brightness), and chroma (saturation).
Hue
Hue is the quality that distinguishes one family of colors from another. It is specified as the dominant range of wavelengths in the visible spectrum that yields the perceived color, even though the exact wavelength of the perceived color may not be present.2 Hue is a physiologic and psychologic interpretation of a sum of wavelengths. In dental terms, hue is represented by A, B, C, or D on the commonly used Vita Classic shade guide.
