Kingsport, TN
When you can create a seamless smile using dental restorations, you know you’ve become a successful dentist! Making dental restorations look like natural teeth requires skill, technique and precision, and it takes practice. The very first step in the process is shade matching, which requires dentists to turn into artists of sorts.
Let’s look today at five techniques that can help turn you into a shade-matching master:
A deep understanding of the dental color wheel
The first step in shade matching is having an intimate knowledge of the dental color wheel. Familiarize yourself with different hues, shades and tones and how they interact with each other. This knowledge enables you to predict how restorative materials will appear in someone’s mouth and how they will appear with surrounding natural teeth.
Brilliant use of natural light
Natural lighting provides the most accurate representation of how dental restorations will appear in real-life situations. Use natural light sources or specialized lighting equipment to effectively assess shade matches. By examining teeth under natural light, you can identify subtle color variations to ensure a precise match with the patient’s natural teeth.
Photography and digital images
Digital images are helping dentists capture high-quality, 3D images of patients’ teeth that can be easily analyzed on a computer screen and then sent to a lab. Recent technology allows dentists to zoom in on images to identify the most minute color details. Some of the more advanced imaging software includes features like shade analysis tools and color calibration, which can help make perfect shade matches for restorations.
Continued training and education
Not all dentists are born artists, and that’s okay. Take advantage of continuing education and training on the most recent advancements in dental materials and shade-matching techniques and technology. Workshops, seminars and online courses can provide you with valuable insights and hands-on experience in shade-matching, giving you the unique opportunity to practice new skills under the guidance of experienced professionals.
Creating custom shade guides
Consider creating custom shade guides tailored to your specific patient population and practice environment. These guides may include a range of tooth-colored tabs made from various dental materials, allowing you to compare and select the most appropriate shade for each of your patients.
What are more tips for shade matching?
Are you a dentist who wants to be a shade-matching master? Our lab specialists in Kingsport developed the following list of simple tips that will help the lab fabricate the best restorations possible for your practice:
- Let us know the shade guide you used — When making a prescription for a restoration, note the manufacturer of the shade guide you used. Small variations among manufacturers can make a big difference in shade-matching a restoration.
- Take the shade at the beginning of the appointment — Teeth can lighten after a while with no water, affecting the accuracy of shade-matching.
- Lighting — Be sure your office is using Natural Daylight bulbs measuring at least 5500 Kelvin.
- Photos — Photos should be taken from different angles, but be sure the patient is sitting upright at the time they’re taken.
Restorations for dental practices throughout the Southeast United States
Dentists who want to deliver high-quality dental restorations to achieve superior aesthetic outcomes must first master shade matching. No one — not the dentist, the patient or the lab — wants to have to remake a restoration because of a mistake that could have been prevented during the shade-matching stage. If you have any questions or concerns about matching restorations to a patient’s natural teeth, call our dental lab specialists at Premier Dental Arts at (888) 732-5221, or contact us online today.