Your dentist told you it would look natural, but when you first saw your dental crown in place, you still couldn’t help being a bit surprised at how well it blended with your real teeth. How did they deliver such a great result for you? With the advanced techniques utilized for modern dental crowns, you receive a personalized restoration that mimics the shade of your natural tooth. It’s not by chance – it’s science. Keep reading for an easy-to-digest look at the process of color matching a dental crown in Corte Madera from your dentist.
Syncing Up with Your Tooth Color
Replicating the color of your teeth is not a simple feat. It requires training and precision since natural tooth enamel comes in many shades. That’s why a perfectly white crown is not the right choice for everyone’s smile.
Your dentist needs to factor in many variables like the hue, chroma, and value of your natural teeth. Hue refers to the natural colors within the enamel, like gray, yellow, or red, while chroma describes the saturation of the hue. The value is the overall level of lightness or darkness to the shade.
Zeroing in on Your Precise Dental Crown Color
To lock in on the color of your crown, your dentist utilizes a shade guide. It’s a plastic or metal plate containing many shades of porcelain teeth laid out in a specific order. The dentist holds the guide up beside your mouth to identify the closest match. This process has several factors at play.
The lighting in the treatment room can alter the appearance of your tooth, so your dentist tries to view your tooth under natural lighting. You may be asked to stand near a window. If natural light isn’t an option, fluorescent light is usually the next choice.
In trying to avoid distractions for your dentist to make the determination, you may be asked not to wear bright lipstick, makeup, or brightly colored clothes. Also, the dentist may play it safe by placing a gray bib over your clothing to avoid color contrasts. This can help give their eyes a neutral resting place.
During the dentist’s training, they learned not to look at the teeth for more than seven seconds consecutively while comparing them to the shade guide. If they did, the rod cells in their eyes can get too used to the color. So, the gray bib enables the cells to reset when your dentist glances at it for a few seconds.
Once your dentist in Corte Madera identifies the perfect color for your dental crown, all the specifications are utilized to create the seamless match you were hoping for. You can rest easy knowing your smile can be upgraded without anyone being the wiser!
About the Author
Dr. Julie Young earned her dental doctorate from the University of the Pacific. She is a member of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association with more than two decades of experience. If you are interested in a dental crown in Corte Madera, she can keep your tooth from sustaining further damage and upgrade your smile. Schedule a consultation on her website or call (415) 924-5300.
