A dental crown is used to restore a compromised tooth to its original shape and function, but to blend in completely, they have to be color-matched to the patient’s natural teeth. Modern crowns can be so indistinguishable from the rest of the smile that some people might wonder how dentists can get them to be just the right shade. Here’s everything you need to know about how a dentist can make your crown fit in with the rest of your pearly whites.
How Are the Colors of Teeth Measured?
The colors of human teeth cover a rather limited range of yellowish off-white. In the dental field, teeth are referred to as having a shade that is made up of hue, chroma, and value. The hue includes the colors naturally present in teeth including red, gray, and yellow. Chroma refers to the hue’s intensity or saturation. The value denotes how dark or light the tooth is.
What Kind of Tools Can a Dentist Use to Determine the Color of Teeth?
While it can be difficult to find a suitable match for a patient’s existing teeth, modern technology provides dentists with some nifty tools for the job. The most widely used color-matching tool is a shade guide, which is a card with an arrangement of artificial teeth. By holding this guide up to the patient’s teeth and comparing them to the examples provided, the dentist can find a suitably similar shade. This process usually begins with determining the smile’s value before the hue and chroma.
Alternatively, a dentist may use a special device called a spectrometer designed to measure the color of teeth. This can provide a dentist with a more objective way to determine the shade of a smile.
How Does a Dentist Figure Out the Right Shade for a Crown?
The shade guide process is best performed under natural or fluorescent lights. The yellowish light of incandescent bulbs can distort the way the colors of teeth are perceived. Dentists often ask their patients to remove their makeup to prevent the contrast from skewing their smile’s appearance. If a patient is dressed in bright colors, the dentist may drape a gray bib over them. This gives the dentist a neutral color to look at between evaluating the patient’s teeth and the shade guide. It’s not unlike eating a saltine cracker to clear your palate between tasting different foods.
The dentist may request a second opinion from a colleague or even the patient. This can help find a better match because the way a color is perceived can vary between different sets of eyes. When the right shade has been determined, the dentist will document it along with sketches or photographs of the patient’s teeth. This information will be sent to a dental laboratory for manufacture by an expert ceramist. The crown will probably be at the dentist’s office and ready for placement in about two weeks.
About the Author
Dr. Dean Levy graduated magna cum laude with his Doctor of Dental Medicine from the Boston University School of Dental Medicine and has completed hundreds of hours of additional training in the field. He is a proud and active member of the American Dental Association, the Massachusetts Dental Society, and the Spear Education Study Club. His office in Boston, MA offers general, cosmetic, emergency, and restorative dentistry such as dental crowns. To learn more about how dental crowns are placed, contact the office online or dial (617) 350-7474.