Teeth color - determination on the Vita scale, reasons for change, restoration.

What colors of teeth are there?

As a rule, the color of tooth enamel is milky white and translucent, but over the course of life, the tissue can become stained under the influence of various factors. The color of teeth depends not only, or rather not so much, on the enamel, but on the shade and quality of dentin, which shines through the enamel. The younger the person, the denser the layer of enamel on his teeth. In addition, the surface of the tooth is uneven, which means the light is reflected unevenly. The denser the layer of enamel is on the teeth and the more pronounced its surface microrelief, the less it shines through, and, therefore, the tooth looks whiter. Conversely, with age, the tooth surface smoothes out, the enamel layer decreases, and dentin begins to shine through more and more, the natural color of which is much darker than the enamel and can be light brown, yellow or gray. With age, the amount of enamel decreases, dentin also undergoes changes, and red-brown pulp begins to shine through the surface structures of the tooth, therefore, the teeth themselves acquire darker shades. It should be taken into account that dental tissues are usually colored unevenly over their surface: at the cutting edge the color is lighter than at the root. Different teeth also have different shades. For example, canines are often darker than incisors. Today, all age-related changes in the color of teeth are easily corrected by aesthetic dentistry, as well as any other problems associated with the appearance of the dentition.

Correctly selected color is a guarantee that the dentition will be aesthetically pleasing.

If the patient plans to regularly resort to whitening, the implant should be installed after the procedure so that its shade is not too dark. However, it will be impossible to neglect regular visits to the doctor and preventive professional cleaning , otherwise the artificial tooth will be a “light” spot in the mouth.

Proper oral hygiene helps maintain the light shade of enamel and its density. Use a quality toothpaste tailored to your needs, and not just rely on commercials that promise a “snow-white smile in just 14 days.” Don’t forget that the brush is no less important - it needs to be changed at least once every couple of months, stored strictly vertically with the head up, preferably in a case, and washed with warm water and soap before first use.

And, of course, you need to visit the dentist regularly. Professional teeth cleaning will help keep your teeth white , during which the doctor removes deposits from the surface of the enamel, stone and plaque. Compliance with the doctor’s recommendations plays a big role. So, after a whitening or cleansing session, you will need to give up coloring drinks and foods for some time - vegetable soups with tomatoes and beets, red wine, grape juice, and so on.

Natural tooth color

Speaking about the natural color of teeth, one cannot fail to mention the characteristics of people with different skin tones. For example, during a recent comparative study of representatives of the Slavic and Iranian groups, scientists identified such a feature. People of the Slavic and Iranian groups most often have a red-brown tint of teeth, less often - reddish-gray. At the same time, among the Slavs, teeth can also be reddish-yellow, but among Iranians, this color was not found in the color of the teeth, as well as gray - in both one and the other group. A comparative analysis of other nationalities shows similar results, indicating that the color of teeth is largely influenced by genetic characteristics and, to a lesser extent, by the environment in which a person lives.

Many people think that people with black skin have beautiful white teeth, but most often this is not the case. African Americans' smiles simply appear brighter. A similar effect, by the way, is observed in tanned people, even those who have only spent a little time in the sun. Therefore, when answering the question of what color natural teeth should be, one should rely on many factors, including those listed above.

By the way, the American Dental Association claims that teeth with a yellowish tint are easiest to whiten. In second place is the brownish tint of the enamel, and the worst response to the whitening procedure is gray teeth, which are often found among Americans.

What determines the natural shade of teeth?

Are your teeth not very white? Are they grayish or yellow in color? Let's see what the possible reasons for this are.

The gray tone is sometimes due to the presence of a large number of old fillings. If you have many teeth that had to be deprived of pulp due to its inflammation, be prepared for the fact that over time such teeth lose their natural shine and become gray. It is difficult to lighten them, but this can be achieved using a new method - endobleaching. In this case, the dentist drills out the old filling, frees the canal, fills it with whitening gel and leaves the gel there for 3-4 days. At the second session, he cleans the canal and puts in a fresh filling.

This is what you have to do with every tooth that is left without a nerve. The operation is long, painstaking, multi-stage and not cheap. But the result is worth a try.

Yellow teeth are common. This is the shade of enamel inherited by a person. Sometimes the enamel is very thin, and the color appears yellowish due to the fact that a layer of dentin, which has a yellow color, shows through the enamel.

Teeth turning yellow with age is normal.

As a person gets older, the pulp sometimes shows through the enamel, which becomes thinner. Then the tooth takes on a dark color, even slightly dark brown. A person may get scared and decide that a disease has begun, but in fact it is just a sign of age.

If your teeth are healthy, don’t let the yellowish tint bother you: dentists believe that such teeth are stronger than those that are white.

How to choose teeth color

The practice of an orthopedic dentist involves the need to choose the shade of dentures. When making prosthetics or restoring one or more teeth in a row, the color is selected in accordance with the patient’s natural teeth. When making complete removable or fixed orthopedic structures, the patient has the opportunity to choose the desired color of the teeth. In this case, you should focus not only on your own desires, but also on the shade of your skin, hair and eye whites. Typically, teeth that are much lighter than the whites of the eyes look unnatural and stand out too much when you smile. In addition, the material from which the crowns or veneers are made should also be taken into account. Thus, plastic and composite materials used to restore teeth look different than metal-ceramics, even with the same color index.

Please note that the color of teeth will be perceived differently in different lighting conditions. That is why, when choosing the shade of veneers or dentures, it is necessary to follow a whole list of conditions, such as natural light, neutral color of the walls in the room and the clothes of the patient and the doctor, the absence of bright lipstick on the lips, and so on.

Tone selection features

When contacting dentists regarding prosthetics and teeth whitening, it is strongly recommended to conduct a comparative analysis using the classic Vita colors. The most popular today are instruments manufactured by the manufacturer Ivoclar Vivadent (Liechtenstein), the slats of which include the lightest shades from groups A, B, C and D, called Bleach. The average cost of one such palette is about 1,400 Russian rubles.

Instead of such a device, computer technologies can be used, which can also be used to select the optimal tooth color by pre-loading a high-resolution digital photo of the patient into the system. However, as practice shows, carrying out a visual comparison procedure turns out to be more effective and reliable, especially since such a service can be provided in almost any dentistry.

But in order for the final work to look good and the patient not have questions about why during the selection there was one shade, but the result was a completely different one, it is strongly recommended to carry out comparisons under strictly defined conditions. As a rule, we are talking about the following determining factors:

Before the procedure, a double procedure for cleaning the teeth must be carried out, the first of which is done by the patient himself at home, and the second by the doctor, using a special solution for this purpose.
The patient is advised to wear clothes in neutral pastel colors (not snug), which will not create unnecessary contrast. Also, white or too brightly colored clothing is not suitable, as it can reflect and refract light, ultimately distorting the doctor’s perception and making a normal result impossible.
The dental office should have good natural lighting, which can be replaced with high-power fluorescent lamps. In the absence of such equipment, a special frame with LED illumination can be used, which is held by the patient during the procedure so that it can fully illuminate his teeth.
You can check the color of teeth using the Vita scale only if they are absolutely healthy, since any concomitant disease can negatively affect the natural color of tooth enamel.

Unfortunately, even compliance with ideal conditions is not a 100% guarantee that the match will be perfect, for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is difficult to choose the ideal tone when the patient’s teeth have different colors (in this case, the doctor chooses something in between or recommends correcting the entire smile line to achieve one tone). And secondly, the palette of natural shades is so diverse that it simply by definition cannot be limited to those sixteen shades that are presented in the auxiliary scale.

Definitions of tooth color

When making dentures, technicians are guided by a special tooth color chart. According to the Vita scale, which is used by almost all dental clinics in the world, natural teeth can have only a few shades: brown, yellow, gray and red. Depending on the intensity category, colors are designated by numbers from 1 to 4. Thus, if a dentist talks about tooth color under the index A1, he means the lightest shade from the reddish-brown range of the table, accordingly, A2 will be slightly darker, A3 - even darker. Index B corresponds to the yellow tone of the teeth and varies in the same way according to the lightness of the shades (B1, B2, and so on). The gray shade is indicated by the Latin letter C (C1, C2, and so on), and reddish-gray teeth - D (namely Latin, not Russian D). The numerical index of the scale indicates the intensity of the color and starts from one, so tooth color 0 actually does not exist.

Professional scales and templates used in dentistry

Professional scales are usually produced by composites manufacturers. They are plates with samples of shades (teeth) made of ceramic, cardboard or plastic. Ceramic samples are considered the most accurate, since they are similar in properties to natural enamel, which means they refract and reflect light in a similar way.

One of the most frequently used is the Vita scale [2]. They are used to determine color in the manufacture of veneers, crowns, dentures, as well as when assessing the results of lightening in professional whitening. The shades in them are grouped into four groups:

● A – reddish-brown;

● B – reddish-yellowish;

● C – gray;

● D – reddish-gray.

In addition to the Vita scale, there are others, for example: GUMY, Chromascop, Vitapan 3D Master and so on [3]. There are also systems that are used exclusively in hardware methods.

Myth No. 3: You can only brush your teeth well with a hard brush.

Those who are far from the world of dentistry do not always understand what depends on the hardness of toothbrushes. But it is traditionally believed that hard cleaning removes accumulated plaque better. In reality this is not the case at all. “A hard brush is intended only for cleaning removable dentures. Soft bristles easily penetrate into the interdental spaces and do not injure the gums,” says the dentist.

When it comes to brushes, you only need to strictly adhere to one rule: change it once every 3-4 months, and brush your teeth twice a day.

And the teeth are intact, and he himself is fine. How to avoid getting infected in a dental clinic Read more

In what cases is the Vita scale used - recovery methods

The Vita color scale allows you to evaluate the actual shade of enamel and identify possible deviations from the norm. This is a kind of hint that helps to assess the current clinical picture. This tool is used before whitening, restoration, prosthetics, installation of veneers and lumineers. Here are the main options for restoring the natural whiteness and beauty of a smile, for which the Vita palette is usually used:

professional hygiene – removal of plaque and tartar in the dentist’s office, allows you to eliminate pathological lesions at their very beginning, as well as restore the natural color of the enamel,
home whitening is a set of techniques that involve the use of special gels, ointments, pastes, trays and pads impregnated with a whitening composition. Such techniques make it possible to lighten the enamel by several tones, but the effect cannot be called long-lasting,
in-office whitening - photo whitening, laser, sandblasting, ultrasonic, intracanal, etc. Each technique has its own pros and cons, indications and contraindications. In any case, a professionally performed procedure allows you to achieve a pronounced and long-term effect,
orthopedic restoration, including microprosthetics - this category includes artificial crowns, dentures, veneers and lumineers. Here we are talking not just about lightening the enamel, but also about correcting other defects, for example, chips and cracks, partially destroyed elements.

The scale allows you to evaluate and select the true shade of enamel

“When I was getting veneers, I had a lot of trouble with these colors. She herself is blonde and has fair skin, so there were specific problems with the choice of shade. At first one dentist suggested A1, but I thought it was a bit too much. As a result, with another doctor we settled on A2 - it looks more natural. In artificial light there is no feeling that your smile is porcelain. I’m very pleased that I went to another specialist and chose this option.”
NinaKom., Moscow, from correspondence on the woman.ru forum

The choice of a specific technique directly depends on the clinical picture, the desired effect, the cause of dental problems, as well as the financial capabilities of the patient. If it's just a matter of yellowed enamel, don't rush to self-medicate. Even before starting at-home whitening methods, you should consult with your dentist.

Advice from Dr. Zubastik

Don't like the color of your teeth? Don't worry, the problem can be solved. If you wish, you can buy a special set of mouth guards and lightening gel and lighten the enamel at home.

But first, consult your doctor: he may advise you to limit yourself to ultrasonic cleaning. In this case, the teeth will become half a tone whiter.

If it’s not enough, use a professional whitening service or install veneers. The main thing is that in pursuit of beauty, do not forget about dental health. Frequent bleaching weakens the enamel. Maybe it’s better to agree with what nature gave - after all, yellowish enamel is really a little stronger than ideal white?

Do you want to lighten your enamel? Watch how it happens:

Tags: Baby teeth, whitening, Teeth color, Vita scale

About the author: Dr. Zubastik

Typically, a toothache begins to subside on the way to the clinic and finally goes away after 10 minutes of sitting in line to see the dentist.

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Teeth whitening and restoration techniques

If even careful care and regular professional hygiene do not allow you to completely get rid of yellowness, teeth whitening comes to the rescue. In our articles, we have already examined in detail the advantages and disadvantages of office and home whitening.

When darkening of the teeth is caused by severe thinning of the enamel, dental disease, or a general deterioration in the patient’s health, the first step is to correctly diagnose the problem and carry out appropriate treatment. Afterwards, it is possible to restore your smile with the help of veneers, lumineers and crowns.

We recommend that you try your best to keep your teeth healthy.