Some patients are surprised to learn that many dentists think of themselves artists as much as they are medical professionals. And it’s no wonder – when it comes to producing healthy and beautiful smiles, oral care is a combination of science and art. This is especially true when it comes to fixing decayed or broken teeth with a dental crown in Brookline MA.
Matching the color of teeth may sound challenging and it certainly can be. Compared to the entire color spectrum, human teeth include a rather narrow array of off-white, yellowish color. But fortunately, there are many time-tested techniques, modern technology, and science to help the dentist make the best decisions.
Dental technicians and dentists refer to teeth as having a shade, not simply a color. A shade includes chroma, value, and hue. Hue is basically the same thing as color and is found naturally in teeth as yellow, gray, or red. Chroma is the intensity of the hue and value is how dark or light the shade is.
The most common tool used for color matching a dental crown in Brookline MA is a shade guide, which is a plastic or metal card with false porcelain teeth of many different shades, which are arranged in a certain order. The dentist holds the guide next to your teeth and compares the natural shade to the colors on the guide until a similar shade is found. The value of the tooth is typically determined first, followed by the hue and chroma.
And while the choice of shade is somewhat personal, there is some science that can help. Decisions regarding color should be considered under natural light conditions or under fluorescent lights that simulate natural light.
Incandescent lights often tend to be too yellow and can make colors look different. When choosing a color for the dental implant in Brookline MA, the patient may be asked to wipe off any bright lipstick or other makeup that can affect the appearance of the tooth shade.
If your clothes are very bright, the dentist may put a gray bib over you. This has two reasons – it decreases any color contrast that may come from bright clothing, and it provides the dentist’s eyes with a neutral place to rest between looking at the shade guide and your teeth.
Your eyes will need to rest in between comparisons because the rod cells that perceive color, can tire quickly. The dentist will usually only inspect your teeth for seven seconds at the most before looking away at something that is gray or neutral in order to reset the rods.
Finally, the dentist will take note of the shade of your teeth, sometimes including digital photos and drawings of both your existing teeth and the one that is being made for a dental crown in Brookline MA.
This information is then sent to a dental laboratory, where an expert ceramist produces the crown. While a completely perfect match between two teeth is nearly impossible, very good matches with nearly undetectable differences are common.
If there is a problem with the color of your crown, the dentist can return it to the lab for another attempt, but we always do our best to get it right the first time! If you’re ready to work on selecting the perfect color for your dental crown in Brookline MA, call our office today to schedule a consultation.
Marilyn Self is a writer, blogger and podcaster of health and technology. She has been a science journalist, a senior editor at Scientific American, and she’s written for many other publications she is a writer, blogger and podcaster.
A writer of health and technology, Marilyn is an author and editor of more than 60 books that have sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.