How to use the VITA colour guide to find the best dental shade.
The dental shade guides are used to match dental patients.The artificial teeth are made from either plastic or porcelain and represent the range of tooth shades available.
Dental specialists consider appearance, hue, and value when choosing a replacement tooth.
The hue, chroma, and value are related to the intensity or saturation of the colour.Successful colour matching depends on all three of these components.
It is believed that value is the most important factor for a good match.The human eye has 120 million rod cells that are sensitive to optical brightness.We only have 6 to 7 million cone cells, which are the other type of photoreceptor in the eye, and the cells which determine colour.
If an appropriate match is not used, a mismatch in value would be most noticeable to the patient and others.
Commercial shade guides are available.The best known and most popular worldwide is the VITA Classic Shade Guide which groups 16 tabs of a similar hue into four collections and then numerically orders the tabs within each group.
A selected tab could be a B3.There are four chroma variations within five available hue groups in the Ivoclar Vivadent Chromascop Shade Guide.The VITA 3D Master Guide is an updated shade guide by the same manufacturer of the Vita Classic which has ten additional shades, thus allowing more coverage of more clients.The twenty-six tabs are divided into six value groups before being further differentiated into three hue groups and the two or three chroma groups.
If a patient is considering teeth Whitening in Knutsford, they should look for a clinic that follows the universally understood and accepted principles of shade selection, which are usually recommended by the shade guide manufacturers.
For instance, the guidelines for the Vita Classic state to match hue first based on which is closest to that of the client's natural tooth colour, before then matching chroma.
When matching, it's important to avoid fatigue or tired eyes, as this may affect accuracy.Ensuring the comparison is made at arm's length whilst squinting is one way to make sure of the selection.
There are several keys to remember when selecting shade for a patient.First of all, make sure the environment is lit with natural daylight and ambient light.The problem of metamerism can be avoided if two shades match well under certain lighting conditions but not under alternative lighting.
Make sure the patient's teeth are viewed at eye level, and that both the teeth and the shade guide are slightly wetted to avoid any surface textural irregularities.It is important that neutral colors surround the teeth when matching, so patients should not wear lipstick or bright clothing, it can be helpful for the dentist to provide a grey patient bib.
The best match for a missing tooth is likely to be determined by the Vita Classic Model.
They will hold the shade guide against the patient's tooth and try to eliminate any obvious mismatches in colour, before being left with one or two likely hue groups.
Once the hue group has been established, the dentist will run the tabs of that hue along the tooth being matched to determine which group is the best.
The final selection is double checked via photograph before the value is determined.A value ordered tooth shade guide can be used as an extra check.
Once they are down to a few possible shade choices, dentists will often take photographs with a digital camera and look at the images in grayscale.When considering brightness, this can help to determine the closest match.
Digital shade analysers can be used to assess a patient's colour match.The Easyshade Compact is a device that is used in dentistry and is considered to be the most accurate of these tools.Dental practices like Knutsford Dental Clinic offer a range of professional dental solutions.
We offer a wide range of dental treatments for all ages and are a new private dentist in Knutsford.