Color in Dentistry: A Clinical Guide to Predictable Esthetics

Predictable shade matching in dentistry remains a significant challenge for clinicians in daily practice. Color is an important aspect in the esthetics of teeth and dental restoration fabrication, and color discrepancy can mar restorative results, even when other aspects (marginal fit, occlusion, and morphology) are adequate. This book provides step-by-step protocols to help dental professionals accurately match, communicate, and reproduce the color of teeth and gingiva. These authors demonstrate how to implement color science in simple problem-solving instructions for predictable esthetics in both clinical protocols and laboratory techniques. An extensive presentation of clinical cases is included to illustrate the use of recommended protocols in general practice. An outstanding contribution to the practice and theory of color management in contemporary dentistry.

Contents

1. Color Education and Training
• Cultivating the skill of shade matching • Currently available shade-matching publications and programs

2. Color Theory
• The Physics of color • Color perception • Color mixing • Color in dentistry

3. Elements Affecting Color
• Illumination • Clinical lighting challenges • Contrast effects and optical illusions • Viewer-associated effects • Other appearance attributes and color perception

4. The United Colors of Dentistry: White, Pink, and Skin
• Optical properties of teeth: White • Optical properties of gingiva: Pink • Means for the evaluation of white and pink esthetics • Optical properties of skin: Variety

5. Conventional Visual Shade Matching
• Shade guides • Factors influencing shade matching • Shade-matching protocol

6. Technology-Based Shade Matching
• Development of technology-based shade systems • Color measurement in dentistry • Technology-based shade-matching workflow • A combined technology-based shade-matching protocol

7. Digital Photography
• Camera system equipment • Principle-based photography concepts • Image management • Color communication

8. Material Selection
• Color compatibility • Color stability • Color interactions • Color matching with mixed or dissimilar restoration types

9. Clinical Management of Hard and Soft Tissue Discolorations
• Managing discolored nonvital tooth stumps and gingiva • Color-matching strategies for discolored vital stump shades • Implant abutment material selection relative to peri-implant soft tissue thickness

10. Esthetics with Pink Restorative Materials
• Papillae display in the smile • The patient's perception of papillae loss in the smile • Negative outcomes without pink restorative materials • Correction of defects with pink restorative materials

11. Predictable Color Reproduction and Verification
• Seven steps to a successful shade match

12. Clinical Cases