SHADE SELECTION - IN DENTISTRY ! [ A topic for Dentists ]

3 dimensions of colour  HUE, CHROMA& VALUE                                                [ + fourth dimension CHARECTERISATION ]

 

HUE  : - distinguish- different colours !

 when coming to dentistry it is represented A,B,C or D

[ great Indian dentist of aesthetic dentistry Dr.Sandesh mayekar has told  –we all must learn  this ‘ABCD ‘ like a young  learn to distinguish  BLUE from GREEN  & RED-]
So  to the finish line – now onwards we start to practice first lesson – when looking at teeth –without shade guides we will learn to say A or B/C/D- and that is HUE !

 CHROMA: when my wife prepare tea/coffee – first, I must take little water in a transparent glass pour milk to it drop by drop

 When first drop falls……. water turn white – [low chroma ] every drop addition increase ‘SATURATION’ of milk and increase CHROMA.[high chroma= highly saturated].( eg; gingival third  of teeth crown- high chroma & opacity )[ remember it is from dentin ]

VALUE : ‘brightness’-is the most important colour variable in dental shade selection &

the most  difficult thing to learn and use !

Forget about definition , I will tell you a secret

[ since I can’t teach this definition to my technician- I tell him just open photo I sent  by mail– and make it BLACK & WHITE ! – that is the easy way to SEE the VALUE  ]( high value middle third & low value incisal third where more translucency  present.)

Yes ! I bet u can’t forget it… it is lightness or darkness of HUE !

high value= brighter= more white -value 10 =white

low value =darker =more gray - value 0=black ,

 

To increase value

1.use lighter porcelain/ composite  [low chroma ]
2.increse reflectivity of surface.

 Conclusion:  

select HUE first, select CHROMA for that chosen hue –then verify VALUE
[vita 3D master is just opposite if anyone use it please read instruction manual ]

 

TIPS that HELPED me .

1. Learn HUE –ABCD (70% A, 20% D only  10% B or C as per science –but ,sorry I don’t trust these percentages ! )
2. Take photo graphs ..and make it B&W –look value difference on different parts of teeth.(tell lab to do the same)
3. Tell lab you want glossy or mat finish- depending upon case.
4. Common question: which shade guide to use .

Easy answer is which your lab use!(or make them use the one you prefer).

Characterization: someone asked about this  , it is more interesting and helpful tip which will make us ‘special dentist’- I love to write a lot about it – please give me some time because I am preparing for my implant test.

 

Now we have even the fifth dimension

They put like this
[1. Chromaticity-ie;hue and chroma-
2.value;luminosity
3.intensity
4.opalescence
5 th dimension Characterisation]

--Other optical property like translucency, fluorescence , contrast and glare – I think everyone are familiar  , so not going deep to that area

Thank you all for patient reading up to here- I tried to put maximum effort to present this most confusing part in simple way – and if anyone can contribute to this I think it will be a great help to our colleagues.

Dr.Shoukath Ali. Rolla-Sharjah-UAE.