Applying extrinsic stain to a ceramic crown can accomplish all of the following EXCEPT:

Correct answer: B. Increase the value

• A. Chroma (colour saturation) is readily increased by adding stain, which is exactly why cervical staining is used.
• B. CORRECT. Stains are pigments, and pigments ABSORB light. Every stain application lowers value (makes the restoration darker and greyer). Value can only be raised by using a lighter, more opaque ceramic or by adding opaquer beneath, never by adding surface stain. This is the single most common misconception about characterization.
• C. Stain and glaze layers scatter and absorb light, so translucency is reduced.
• D. Hue can be shifted with stain — adding orange, yellow or grey tints moves the crown along the hue axis.

Note: Value is the most important of the three colour dimensions for a crown blending in, and it is the one you cannot fix with stain. If the crown is too high in value, it has to go back for a different ceramic, not more stain.